


Hard Road

by AleishaPotter



Series: Hard Road Universe [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-03
Updated: 2013-07-31
Packaged: 2017-10-18 22:50:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 54,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/194155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AleishaPotter/pseuds/AleishaPotter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean discovers a few truths about himself when he and Cas are forced to go undercover on a hunt to the very last place Dean ever thought he'd find himself: a gay resort called "Last Hope" that is geared towards helping troubled homosexual couples repair their relationships.<br/>Warnings: m/m sexing, gratuitous use of OC's that sadly resemble real people (but aren't Mary Sues!), humor and inappropriate homosexual stereotypes.  Can a Michael Rosenbaum look-a-like be a warning?  Well, I think he needs one...  angst, because, yeah, this is ME we're talking about, some language and violence.<br/>Author's Notes:  This was written for this years BigBang, but due to hospital stays, I didn't get it complete in time for this weekend's deadline.  I have 90 percent complete and there is no way I can sit on this for another year and I missed the sign ups for the Dean/Cas BigBang, so... I'm just gonna post it up here and be done with it!  It will be four, maybe five parts, depends on how long the epilogue ends up being.  Probably around 30k words when complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> A HUGE, HUGE, HUGE thank you to Vicki for standing by me and holding my hand through this epic, massive undertaking. She doesn't even like slash yet she cheered me on, laughed with me and cried with me through this fic, and loved every word of it until the end. She even read the smut for me!! And she wants everyone to know that if Alec were straight, he'd be hers, so hands off. Feedback is how we authors live, so, please, comment, comment, comment! Con/crit is ALWAYS welcome... Thanks for reading!

Prologue

 

Dean sighed as Bobby continued to explain all the reasons why he couldn’t get past the gate at this… Last Hope place. To his experienced ear, it sounded like excuses, but he couldn’t really blame the man. He’d do anything in his power to stay as far away from a gay camp like that as possible.

Bobby had told them all about his latest case, full moon killings, but nothing that pointed towards werewolves, that morning. The fact that they were happening at a homosexual resort geared towards helping struggling couples brought Dean’s mind immediately to crazed human zealots, but the older hunter didn’t agree. Bobby thought it was more up their alley. Something about symbols and sigils and rituals.

“Did you try the whole FBI act?” Sam asked.

“Of course. They let me in, but they were worse than a couple of bloodhounds. Wouldn’t leave me alone for five seconds, something about the woods being too dangerous and some bullshit about how I had to have an escort. Didn’t do much good. I saw some… weird symbols and etchings, ones I’d like to get a closer look at,” Bobby told them.

“Think we could sneak in after dark?” Dean asked the older hunter.

“It’d be hard… that place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. I have no idea why. They gave me some off the wall excuse about ‘high profile clients’ they have sometimes and how important discretion is in their line of work,” Bobby explained.

Dean smirked.

“Yeah, I bet… well, I think we should call Cas,” he told the other two, slapping his thighs as he stood up from his seat. “I need a beer. Anyone else?”

“Sure,” Sam answered, eyes narrowed as he watched Dean walk away.

“Stop staring, Sammy, it’s not nice,” Dean called as he leaned over into the refrigerator.

“Is that, like, your default method of dealing with a case now? Calling Cas?” Sam asked.

“What? We hit a dead end; we call in the big guns. What’s bigger than a freaking angel of the Lord?” Dean asked, smirking at Sam’s eye roll.

“Fine, then pray to your angel.”

“He’s not my angel…” Dean muttered setting his beer down on the desk Bobby and Sam were still sitting around. “Okay… um… Castiel? Cas? Get your feathery ass down here… Please?”

Dean immediately felt stupid at the looks on his fellow hunters faces. So what if it wasn’t the most eloquent prayer… it usually worked.

“Dean,” a familiar voice, tinged with irritation, sounded behind him.

Dean turned and smirked when his gaze landed on the familiar disheveled holy tax accountant behind him.

“I’m sure there are much nicer ways of requesting my presence,” Cas told him, a frown marring his face.

“Yeah, but that one usually gets your attention the quickest,” Dean quipped.

The angel just sighed.

“What do you need, Dean?”

“Bobby’s got a case and we could use a ride on the angel express to get past the security. Think you could zap us in?”

Dean thought for a minute that Cas was going to roll his eyes, he’d obviously been around Sam way too long, but the shorter man just shook his head.

“I can take you there. I just need you to show me where I am supposed to go.”

“Thanks, man!” Dean responded, slapping a hand on the angel’s back, right between his shoulder blades. Cas sucked in a breath and moved away quickly.

“Uh… sorry? You okay?” Dean asked, surprised at such a response from a being he was pretty sure didn’t feel pain.

“I’m fine. Now, where am I taking you?” Cas asked, refusing to meet Dean’s eyes.

“Here,” Bobby pointed out, showing them on a map the exact location of the resort. “You should aim for the woods, anywhere else’s probably too open and the damn cameras are everywhere.”

Cas nodded.

“Well, let’s do this,” Dean said, motioning for Sam to come over. “Got your knife?”

“Yeah. Think we need anything else?” his brother asked.

“Just our guns should be fine for now. If we need anything else, Cas can zap us back.”

Cas reached out and placed two fingers on each brother’s foreheads and Dean waited for the normal disorientation and lack of air that accompanied angel travel, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see what was going on and met Bobby’s confused eyes.

“Uh… now’s fine, Cas,” Dean told the angel.

“I… I tried. It didn’t work,” Cas told him, looking as confused as Dean felt. He watched the angel square his shoulders and reach out for their heads again.

This time, the disorientation came and when Dean opened his eyes, he was standing on a street corner. Across the way was a large gate and across the gate were gilded words spelling out “Last Hope”.

“Um, I thought we said middle of the woods, not at their front door.”

“I couldn’t move into the woods. I don’t know why, I brought you as close as I could,” Cas told him, snapping a little on each word.

“It’s fine, Cas… we’ll go, see if we can see anything, maybe a reason why you can’t get in,” Sam told him, forestalling any argument that could break out.

The three men made their way across the street to stand outside the large gate.

“Now what?” Dean asked, still feeling annoyed.

“This could explain why I couldn’t ‘zap’ us in,” Cas told him, pointing to a faint etching on one post of the massive gate. “It’s Enochian. It’s a barrier. There’s bound to be more along the entire fence line. If I cross the line created by the symbols, my grace would be bound. I’d be powerless.”

“Well, isn’t that just great. So, whatever is killing these people, it obviously doesn’t want angelic interference.”

“That would be a logical assumption,” Cas pointed out.

“Okay, so, this plan is obviously not going to work. Let’s get out of here and back to Bobby’s before we get caught,” Sam suggested.

Cas reached out and as soon as he fingers touched their heads, they found themselves sitting once again in Bobby’s living room.

“That was quick,” the older hunter pointed out.

“Yeah, well, the whole place is angel-proof, so…” Dean trailed off, grabbing up his deserted beer.

“That ain’t good.”

“How long till the next full moon?” Dean asked.

“Two weeks,” Sam answered.

“So, we’ve got a few days to figure out how to get past security, figure out what it is, and how to kill it. Must be Tuesday…” Dean muttered, taking another long pull of his beer.

Bobby was staring at one of the glossy brochures that littered his desk intently.

“What’s that?” Sam asked before Dean could voice the question.

“It’s a pamphlet about the program that resort runs,” he explained, barely paying attention to the men in the room. Slowly he raised his eyes to meet Dean’s. “I may have a way in for ya, but you ain’t gonna like it.”

Dean raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“The next ten day session starts in three days. It ends on the full moon. It would be the perfect way in…”

“Oh, hell no!” Dean spit out. “No way in hell am I going undercover to a… a… fag camp! It’s bad enough people always assume Sam and I are gay, this… no… just… no.”

Dean looked over at his brother, expecting to see a matching look of horror but was shocked when Sam wore a thoughtful expression.

“Sam! What the fuck, man? You are not seriously thinking about this?”

“I’m not thinking we should go together, no, but…”

“But what? It’s says for couples. A couple indicates two.”

“Exactly. And… I think we actually have the perfect couple to pull this off…” Sam pointed out, his face melting into an evil smile.

Dean just stared in confusion at his brother. He was totally lost.

“Dude, no way in hell am I going there with Bobby. No offense,” he added, turning towards the older man.

“No, not Bobby. They’ve already seen him, it wouldn’t work anyway.”

“Then who?” Dean demanded.

Sam’s eyes strayed from his and landed on the still silent angel, who stood off to the side, calmly watching the proceedings.

“No,” Dean told his brother, his anger growing by the minute.

“Why not?” Sam asked, his eyes still on the shocked angel.

“Why not? Um… where do I start? How about the fact that he can’t get in for a start.”

“That’s not entirely true, Dean,” Cas finally spoke up. “I can enter the grounds, I just would have access to my grace. I would essentially be human.”

Dean glared at the other man.

“Not helping, dude.”

“Dean, get your head out of your ass. It’s not real, it’s an act. You pull crazy crap off all the time, how would this be any different. We’re talking about innocent lives. Get over your damn homophobia and go. It’s the best option we have,” Bobby snapped.

Dean turned once more to Cas.

“You can’t be okay with this idea.”

“Why not? You have had me pretend to be many things from an officer of the law to a child protective services worker, how is this any different?” Cas asked, head tilted innocently to the side.

Dean let a small growl loose as he turned his back on the other man.

“Stupid fucking angels.”

“Dean,” Sam started, face morphing into his most annoying bitch face.

“Fine! Fine, but I swear… you’re gonna get it, Sammy. Pay back’s a bitch.”

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s going, too,” Bobby spoke up.

“What now?” Sam asked, head whipping around to stare at the other hunter.

Bobby handed them another pamphlet.

“They have an opening for a handyman. I think you’d fit that position just fine. Dean and Castiel would have back up. You’re going, too.”

Dean smirked at the panicked look on his brother’s face.

“And just think, Sammy, you’re single… all those gay dudes unhappy with their partners, looking for a little-”

“Dean? Shut up.”

“Pack up boys, you leave Sunday.”

 

Part One

 

Dean and Cas stood once more outside the large gates that proclaimed Last Hope. This time the pair was holding a large duffel each and Cas had lost his normal holy tax accountant attire and was instead clad in a simple dark blue t-shirt and faded, well-fitting blue jeans.

“You ready?” Dean asked, eyeing the Enochian symbols on both of the large cement posts that held the gate.

“Yes. Dean. You really don’t have to worry. It will not be permanent and it is not the first time I have been… human.”

“Yeah, but we don’t know what we are going after and having you in there, powerless, makes me nervous.”

“I know how to use a gun, Dean. I know exorcism rituals in more languages than you can comprehend and anyone, even a child, can throw holy water or salt and burn something. I am far from powerless,” Castiel pointed out.

“Fine, you’ve made your point. Let’s go. The sooner we get in there, the sooner we can gank this son of a bitch and get this over with.”

Dean and Cas made their way inside the large gate. The hunter glanced over at the angel in time to catch him flinch and his steps stumble.

“Cas?” Dean asked, reaching out to steady his friend.

“I’m fine,” Cas assured him with an annoyed look.

“If you say so,” he answered nonchalantly.

The two men followed the long winding path and signs, which read “Registration”, to a large two-story old style house, complete with white picket fence and wrap around porch. Off to the left and right smaller, same style dwellings could be seen along the wood line.

A large banner over the open front door proclaimed, “Welcome!”.

“Oh, boy,” Dean muttered under his breath.

“It looks welcoming,” Cas commented, eyes roaming over the large building they stood in front of.

“Yeah, welcoming. Well, let’s go in. Now, remember your name?” Dean asked.

“Cas Novak. Not that hard to remember. It’s also printed on the fraudulent ID and credit card you gave me.”

“Just making sure.”

Dean led the way into the large house and followed the signs to a small sitting room. The room was sparsely furnished with random chairs that seemed mismatched and a large, antique desk situated in the middle of the room.

Two men stood at the desk already. One was leaning over the wood writing on something while the other man glanced around the room looking bored.

Dean walked up to the desk, followed closely by Cas. He picked up one of the clipboards and eyed the paper forms it held. There was one form for each individual then one form to be filled out together as a couple. Dean handed one page to Cas.

“You think you can handle filling this out on your own or should I fill them both out?” he asked.

“Yes, Dean, I can write my name. I do know how to read and write,” Cas answered in an irritated tone as he ripped the page from Dean’s hand. The hunter rolled his eyes.

“I never said you couldn’t. Jeez, don’t be such a girl.”

Dean looked up from his paper and met a pair of amused blue eyes. It was then that he realized he and Cas had been putting on a show for the other couple.

“Jack, I’m done. Let’s go,” the man who had been filling out the paper called.

Dean glanced over at him in time to catch a small apologetic smile.

“Desk’s all yours. Sorry it took so long,” he told the hunter, dragging his partner out of the room. Dean just shook his head. This was going to be a very long week.

After Dean and Cas had filled out all their paperwork, they made their way to the dining room per the instructions they’d found on the desk.

When they entered the large, open room a far too cheerful woman greeted them. She had shoulder length wavy blond hair and dull blue eyes. A sickly sweet smile graced her far too thin lips. When she opened her mouth to speak, Dean nearly cringed.

“Hello and welcome to Last Hope, my name is Hannah Strong and I am the owner and coordinator here. I am so pleased that you have chosen our establishment. And you are?” she spilled, barely taking a breath between sentences.

“Uh… my name is Dean and this is my… this is Cas,” Dean introduced them haltingly, not able to bring himself to use the word partner. Hell, this was a gay resort, he was pretty sure they could all guess who Cas was supposed to be.

“It’s wonderful to meet you,” the blond woman gushed while she flipped through a notebook she held between horridly manicured hands. “Yes, here we are. Dean Smith and Cas Novak. You will be in Cabin Twelve,” she told them, handing Dean two keycards, “and for today’s brunch you will be at Table Four. Here are your nametags. Please wear them during all group times,” she explained, handing Cas two plastic laminated pin on tags bearing their names in large print.

“Thanks,” Dean mumbled, quickly moving around her and searching for Table Four. He caught sight of their assigned table, right next to a table occupied by the same couple they had met in the sitting room earlier.

“Well, let’s do this,” Dean whispered, leading Cas over to their empty table. Besides the table to their left that held the familiar couple, only one other table was occupied.

On the other side of the room a table held another male couple. One man was tall, probably as tall as Sam, and quiet with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He was watching the man with him with a look of sheer embarrassment.

The other man, the one embarrassing Mr. Tall and Quiet, was being very loud and boisterous, gesturing wildly with his hands and talking so loudly they could hear every word he said here on the other side of the room. He had short cropped, spiky light brown hair but Dean couldn’t tell his eye color because the man’s head wouldn’t stay still long enough to get a glimpse of his eyes.

“Hi. I, uh, don’t think we introduced ourselves earlier.”

Dean whipped around and came face to face with one of the men they had met earlier.

“My name is Alec,” the shorter of the two men introduced himself. He had blond hair, short and perfectly styled with what had to be at least a pound of gel. His startling green eyes were framed by thin, delicate looking wire-framed glasses. Dean’s first impression was geeky college professor. “And this is Jack,” Alec continued, gesturing towards the taller man.

Jack looked… rough. He had short black hair, close cropped in an almost militaristic style and light blue eyes. He looked uncomfortable, like he’d rather be anywhere but here. Dean knew how he felt.

“Dean,” the hunter said by way of introduction and offered his hand to Alec. “This is Cas.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

Dean then offered his hand to Jack and shared a commiserating smirk with the other man.

“So, uh… first time here?” Dean asked, completely lost for what he was supposed to say now.

Alec looked a little confused for a minute.

“Yes, first time. I’m thinking there aren’t many people who would come here more than once… if it doesn’t help the first time, it probably won’t do any good to spend money on a second week.”

“Oh… yeah, that’s true…”

It was quiet for a few minutes, neither couple seeming to know what to say.

“So, um, how long have you two been together?” Alec finally asked. His question caused Dean to flinch. They hadn’t really had a chance to discuss their history, he thought they’d have more time to come up with a past and a story.

“Two years.”

“Four years.”

Dean glared at Cas. The angel just shrugged sheepishly.

“So… is it two or is it four?” Jack asked.

“We’ve, uh, known each other for four years, but we’ve only… you know… yeah, for two years,” Dean answered, pushing as much confidence into his posture and words as possible.

“Ah,” Alec said with a nod. It seemed to be an okay answer because Jack and his partner didn’t pursue that line of questioning.

Dean was relieved when more people started to filter in. The new arrivals drew Alec and Jack’s attention away from him and Cas. Once the room was filled, Hannah stepped up on a podium and announced that brunch was served. She pointed towards a long buffet table filled with mouthwatering foods. He decided that maybe this whole getaway wasn’t going to be all torture. There were obviously a few good parts.

Hannah also told the assembled group that after brunch they would have a couple hours to get settled into their cabins and that they would all meet back at the main house at one o’clock for their first group session.

Dean immediately took back his good thoughts from earlier. Group sessions? Yep, this week was going to be sheer torture.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean glanced around the surprisingly large cabin that he and Cas were stuck with for the next ten days. It had a studio set up, with kitchen, living room, dining room and bedroom all in one large, open room. He spied his first problem with the cabin on the right wall. Innocently decked out in shades of blue and a mound of very comfy looking pillows was a large, king size bed. One bed. As in a single bed, that he and Cas were obviously expected to share.

He just groaned. Cas glanced over at him, obviously confused.

“Is there a problem?” the shorter man asked.

“Yeah, I’m not gay, yet here I am, at a gay resort, staring at the bed I’m gonna share with another man for the next week and a half… I’d say there’s something wrong.”

Cas raised one eyebrow at Dean’s rant.

“Technically, Dean, I am neither male nor female,” the angel pointed out.

“Cas, man, not making it any better.”

“Sorry.”

Dean tossed his duffel down on the large bed and stomped off to the bathroom. Thankfully the person who designed these cabins had seen fit to close in the restroom, there was no way he was doing his business with an audience, fake boyfriend or not.

After he’d taken care of his imminent needs, he returned to the main room and froze when he found Cas going through his duffel, carefully unpacking the clothes and placing them, neatly folded, into the drawers provided. It was entirely too… domestic for his tastes.

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?”

Cas glanced up with a startled expression on his face. Dean almost laughed at the deer in the headlights look the other man was giving him. He never thought the day would come when he could sneak up on the angel.

“I’m putting up the clothes. If they stay in the bags, they’ll be wrinkled,” he pointed out as if it should be obvious to Dean what he was doing and why.

“You’re touching my boxers.”

“I’ve seen you naked, Dean, why are you worried about me touching your clothing?”

Dean sputtered at that.

“When the hell have you seen me naked!?”

“There are many times, especially during that first year, where I watch out for you and Sam.”

“Again, I ask, when the hell have you seen me naked? Do you watch me when I’m fucking around?”

“At times I have… accidentally interrupted something, but I assure you, I left as soon as it became obvious what I had come in on.”

Dean just stared, not even knowing what to say to that.

“Other times I may have showed up while you were in the shower, again, I left to give you your privacy, but…”

“Dude, just stop. I don’t really want to know,” Dean told him, stopping the angel’s fumbling explanations.

Castiel just shrugged.

“We should head back to the main house. It’s almost time for our group meeting. God, I need a drink,” Dean muttered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hannah Strong glanced around the assembled pairs, a pleasant smile on her face. She seemed to be an okay woman, if a little too cheery for Dean's liking... and WAY too obsessed with how everyone was feeling.

"Well, I think it's about time we get started. You've all had a chance to get to know each other during brunch, but let me officially welcome you to Last Hope. I sincerely hope that you will all find what you are looking for here," she spoke to the group, her smile never faltering.

"Now, these group sessions will occur every morning at nine promptly and I do expect EVERYONE to be present. This is integral to repairing your relationships... with that said... let's start with our first question, shall we? What brings you to Last Hope and what do you feel is the leading problem or missing element to your relationship? " she asked, gaze searching each couple. "Let's start with Lauren and Allie and work our way around. Ladies? "

Dean fought the impulse to roll his eyes at the question. What was missing from his relationship with Cas? You mean, besides the actual relationship? How the hell was he supposed to know? What was he supposed to say? Oh, well, see, he's missing this important thing called a soul and me? yeah, I'm kinda missing this thing called gayism... you know, that ability to actually be with another guy... Yeah, that would go over well

Maybe if he just listened to the other answers, something would come to him... or maybe he could hope Cas already had this one in the bag. He glanced over at the angel to see a very confused and lost look on his friend's face. Nope, not relying on Cas for this.

The first couple to speak was a lesbian couple that Dean really wouldn't mind getting in the middle of... oh wait... lesbian, right. Wow, this week was going to suck serious balls.

Dean cringed at his choice of wording. Note to self... no thinking of sucking and balls while at a gay resort.

The taller brunette spoke first, Lauren he thought he remembered.

"Allie likes cock," she spit out rather bluntly.

"Wait... I thought you chicks were lesbians," Dean blurted out.

Lauren turned a glare on him.

"We are! Well, I am... Allies bi," she told him, practically spitting out the word.

"You make it sound like it's something horrible," the small blond woman, Allie obviously, spoke up, sending her own glare Lauren's way.

"It is! How am I supposed to feel about that, huh? That's obviously something I can never give you, yet it's obviously something you really like," the brunette spoke, anger seeping out of her voice to be replaced by pain.

Allie sighed, her eyes straying around the room. It was obvious she didn't want to get into this here and Dean couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I love you... so I might like guys too, that doesn't mean I want to replace you with one? "

"Very good, Ladies... I think we definitely have a starting place to work from... how about you, Jack? Would you and Alec like to go next? " Hannah asked, staving off an obvious argument before it could go any further.

Jack cleared his throat and glanced at his partner before speaking.  
"I... uh.... Alec and I don't have problems. I mean... I suppose we do... we wouldn't be here otherwise, right? " he spoke quickly and nervously. It looked like Dean wasn't the only one who didn't really want to be here.

Jack shifted in his seat and let out a long sigh.

"We... we've been trying to adopt and, well, unfortunately too many people still have issues with homosexual couples and we haven't been able to get approval. It's been hard on our relationship... we've been fighting more than usually... we thought a few days away from it all would help us," he told the assembled group, on hand reaching over to grip the blond man's thigh. Alec glanced up at his partner and gave a sad smile.

Dean leaned back in his seat, realizing that he and Cas were next... and he had NOTHING. He might could make up a sad story, but, after hearing the real ones... he wasn't sure he could come anywhere near what they had said.  
"Very good, Jack. We'll work on that, you two can take this time to reconnect and I'm sure an opportunity will come for you two," Hannah told the pair before turning her golden brown eyes on Dean. "Your turn."

Dean swallowed roughly and glanced towards Cas. The other man just shrugged his shoulders, obviously as lost as he was. Taking one more deep breath, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Cas saved me from Hell."

Dean saw Cas's head whip towards him, his eyes wide with shock and a warning in their depths.

"Not literally, of course..." Dean said, chuckling nervously. "I.. uh... had just come back from the war... umm... a pretty rough deployment, I was... you know... a little lost. Cas was there, umm... a friend at first, ya know, but... uh... he sorta, you know, put me back together."

Dean wracked his brain for where to go from there.

"Dean isn't gay," Cas spoke up. Dean's eyes shot to his friend's. "I mean... he wasn't gay. He... has trouble accepting that he... feels the way he does about another man."

"I... uh, don't know how to tell my friends, my family... kinda, you know, puts a damper on things," Dean finished, hoping he'd said enough and promising to buy Cas all the hamburgers he could eat for his quick thinking.

Hannah was nodding knowingly.

"Well, I hope you will learn that loving a man is nothing to be ashamed of, it's the person inside that you fall for, not the gender on the outside. Well, Mike... Tom, how about you guys? "  
Mike smirked as he looked around the room. When his eyes met Dean's he gave a salacious wink.

"Tommy here has a little problem. He's boring in bed."

The taller, dark haired man, Tom he had said, glared at Mike.

"I am NOT boring in bed, and she asked for what's missing in our relationship-“

"Exactly, and that is something that is missing in our relationship. I mean... I don't ask for anything outrageous. I have a healthy sexual appetite... that's not a bad thing." Dean tried not to laugh.  
If there was ever a stereotypical gay man... Mike was it. He was flamboyant, outspoken, impeccably dressed and... well, he tended to flip his hand and give the whole.. limp wrist thing WAY too often.

Then there was Tom.... Dean had two words for him: whiny bitch.

"You want me to dress up like various superheroes.... I hate tights! Do you realize the damage those could do to my man- parts? "

"It's a bit of harmless role-playing!"

"What is so wrong with me, huh? Why do I have to be someone else? " Tom whined and Dean was REALLY going to get sick of his voice soon.

"Okay, gentlemen... I think we can work through this. We'll put this at the top of our list for our one on one session. Sarah, Anne? Would you like to go next? " Hannah spoke up, once again playing peacemaker.

The tall, very butch looking blond woman sitting next to Tom crossed her arms and glared at the group.

"Why are we here? Hell if I know," she muttered.

The smaller red head sighed sadly and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"We're here because Anne has a problem with my religion. Which was fine at first, but now that I've been asking her to go to church with me... she's pulling back," Red Head, Sarah, spoke up.

"You're 'religion' says that what we do is a sin and we're going to burn in Hell... yeah, I have a problem with it," Anne pointed out.

"A lot of Christians believe that, but, as I've told you time and time again, the Church that I'm a part of is different. We believe that God loves ALL of his children and wants to love others as well. That is one of his first commandments, he doesn't say, 'love only men,' he says 'love one another'. I don't believe a loving and forgiving God would make his children 'burn in Hell' simply for falling in love," Sarah spoke very vehemently.

Dean scoffed at that. He couldn't believe people still believed that God was "loving" and "forgiving".

Cas leaned over and pinched Dean's thigh hard causing him to jump in his seat.

"You have a problem with one of my statements? " Sarah asked, eyes narrowed at Dean.

"I have a problem with God," Dean muttered, not wanting to draw attention to himself again.

Sarah just shook her head sadly.

"Well, that is definitely something we will be sure to talk about in our later sessions," Hannah told the sad red head. Well, I do believe that is everyone. Thank you again for sharing today and I hope that this is a great start to a wonderful week and a half. Now, you have a little time before lunch, so, why don't you go back to your rooms or you are welcome to walk around our beautiful grounds, enjoy this time together, cherish each moment."  
Dean couldn't fight the impulse to roll his eyes this time. He had had about enough of the lovey- dovey feeling talk for now, thanks.

"Let's go Cas," he said, dragging the angel up by his arm. All he wanted to do was get back to the room and crash. There was no way he was going to last through ten days of this crap... no way...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean flopped down on the king size bed and stared up at the wood beam ceiling. It wasn’t even dinnertime yet and he already wanted to shoot himself in the face. He’s a dude, really, why the hell would he want to spend the next ten days discussing his… feelings. Seriously? Gay or not, what guy does that?

“I saved you from hell?” Cas asked incredulously.

“Well, I didn’t see you coming up with anything better!”

“You lie for a living, and that was the best you could come up with? The truth?”

“It worked, didn’t it? She was nice and happy with our sappy, sad love story.”

Cas just sighed before fidgeting. Dean had noticed the angel doing that a lot during the day.

“You okay?”

“I… I think I may need to use the restroom,” Cas answered, a light blush rising on his cheeks.

“So… go. Bathroom’s right there.”

Cas’s blush deepened, his eyes darting around the room.

“It was… not the most pleasant part of being human, I was trying to put it off as long as possible,” the other man admitted.

Dean snorted out a laugh.

“Dude, that’s not healthy. For the next few days, you’re human. Get used to it.”

Cas rolled his eyes before reluctantly walking into the bathroom. Dean resumed his staring, waiting for the other man to come back out and trying really hard not to wonder if Cas had had trouble figuring out the toilet the first time he’d had to use it. Some things he really didn’t need to know.

When Cas returned, Dean blurted out a question that had been lingering on his mind since their group session earlier.

“Why do you seem so tolerant of all this shit? Isn’t homosexuality a major no-no according to your Father?”

Cas tilted his head in that annoying way that meant he was reading way too much into what Dean had just said.

“You’re the one who taught me that God had given all His beings free will, that we were not bound by His will. Shouldn’t that apply to whom one chooses to love?”

Dean was speechless. That wasn’t exactly what he meant when he’d lectured Cas about free will and choice and… no… not what he meant at all.

“Are you saying that you believe that we should all have free will except when it comes to sexual relations? To relationships?” the angel asked.

“No, that’s not… I mean… oh, never mind.”

Dean rolled his eyes and made his way into the bathroom. He really needed to piss and any excuse to end this conversation was a good one in his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dinner that evening was a bit smaller than the brunch had been, with fewer tables and no arranged sitting. Dean figured that was Hannah’s way of forcing them to mingle and get to know each other a little better.

He and Cas made their way to an empty table and sat down, full plates in their hands. Dean opened his mouth to point out that they were having burgers, Cas’s favorite when a timid voice spoke up from behind him.

“Are these seats taken?”

Dean turned to find Alec standing behind his chair, an unsure look on his face. The last thing he wanted was to have to talk to anyone else but he figured it would be pretty impolite to turn him down.

“Nah, they’re free.”

“Thanks,” Alec answered, sitting down on Cas’s right, leaving the seat on Dean’s left open for Jack, who was still standing at the buffet table, loading up a plate. He placed several large, old looking books down beside his own sparsely filled plate.

“Doing some light reading?” Dean asked, trying to read the faded titles on the spines of the books.

“Yeah… I’m a teacher. I, uh… I teach high school English and Literature. I thought I might have some free time to read over some possible prose for next year,” he explained.

“Dante?” Cas asked, eyeing the top book.

“Yeah. I thought about having my seniors read all three of Dante’s works.”

“Is that something you have an interest in?” Cas questioned.

“He’s got an angel kink, Dante’s just his way of covering that up,” Jack spoke up from behind Cas as he made his way over to Dean’s side to the empty seat waiting for him there.

Alec’s face turned beat red.

“I do not. That sounds so… wrong,” Alec muttered.

“Al, you’re totally obsessed with Enoch, Dante, and that chick, can’t even remember her name… the one thing they all have in common? Angels and Demons…” Jack told his partner, reaching over to pull out a small thin book from under the larger volumes. “Like this one… The Journal of Anael. A fictitious story about an angel who fell in love with a human and thus chose to Fall, to rip out her Grace, in order to be with the man she loved.”

Cas raised an eyebrow and reached for the small book.

“May I?”

Alec shrugged, cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment as he handed over the small book.

“It’s not that unbelievable,” Cas commented, “the Book of Enoch as well as the Book of Genesis in the Bible tell of angels who lusted after humans, procreated with them, and then fell because of it.”

“So, the author’s just an idiot who stole her plot from other sources. It’s just an overused theme, nothing more.”

“It’s a heartbreaking tale, very beautifully written,” Alec told them quietly, staring down at the table and his uneaten food.

“It’s a load of crap. I mean, there’s fiction, and then there’s this crap that pretends to be real to convince a bunch of love sick teens that love is worth dying for… almost as bad as Romeo and Juliet,” Jack told them, “or Twilight.”

“You don’t believe any of the stories are true?” Cas questioned the other man while skimming through the small book.

“I think angels and demons, Heaven and Hell, God… they’re the biggest crock and bull of them all.”

Dean glanced at the quiet blond and could see the hurt radiating from his green orbs. This was apparently a sore spot for the two of them.

“It’s just a book. I’m sorry my interests bother you so much,” Alec muttered before grabbing the book from Cas’s hands and leaving the dining room.

Jack rolled his eyes at his retreating partner’s back.

“Aren’t you going to go after him?” Dean couldn’t help but ask.

“Nah. He’ll chill out in a hour or so,” Jack dismissed.

Cas’s eyes were still glued to the door Alec had just left through. Dean nudged him to gain his attention. Concerned blue eyes met his for a moment before Cas spoke up.

“Excuse me for a minute,” the angel muttered before standing up and following the blond man out of the dining room.

Dean cleared his throat, not sure what to say now that both he and Jack had been abandoned by their… friends.

“So, what do you do?” Jack asked, seemingly unconcerned by the last few minutes.

“Uh… I’m a mechanic,” Dean told him; coming up with the only job that he knew anything about outside of hunting.

“Sounds fun. My dad and I always used to work on his car together,” Jack told him, a nostalgic smile on his face.

“Yeah, same here. So, what do you do? You a teacher, too?”

“Hell no. I don’t have the patience for that. I’m a cop.”

Dean was surprised at Jack’s response. The last he checked, any form of armed forces tended to look down on same sex relationships. He couldn’t help but ask about that.

“And, uh… are they okay with… you know, you and Alec?”

Jack scoffed at that.

“Well, there aren’t regulations against it anymore, but are they okay with it? I’d say not… though the Sarge tries to be understanding. The outright hostility isn’t there like it used to be, at least in Oregon, where we’re from.”

“That’s good…” Dean let his reply trail off, really at a loss for what to say now. Small talk was never his forte, unless it was about the hot chick across the room, or the alcohol they were drinking… what do you say to a gay guy?

“I better go save your guy from Alec’s melancholy,” Jack told him after he’d finished up the last chicken leg on his plate.

“Oh, yeah. I’ll see ya around.”

Dean watched Jack leave the dining room and decided he really didn’t want to end up in another discussion with yet another set of campers. He quickly threw away his trash and made his getaway. He enough time to get back to his cabin and e-mail Bobby before he and Cas were expected to meet back with Hannah for their one-on-one session.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean is lounging on the large bed, staring innately at the ceiling when Cas returns.

“Have fun with your homo bonding?” Dean asks lightly.

“Actually, I found something interesting out,” Cas responds.

“What, that Alec is actually the top in that relationship? Because, I’m really not seeing that.”

Cas leveled an annoyed gaze at the hunter.

“No, I mean about the… being we are hunting.”

“Yeah… what?”

“In one of Alec’s books, I recognized a couple sigils that we saw on the trees on the edge of the woods.”

Dean sat up; intrigued by the way this conversation was going.

“Well, what did you find out?”

“It is Aztec. One in particular is a name. Coatlicue.”

“Never heard of it… demon?” Dean asked.

“No, goddess. A fertility goddess to be exact.”

Dean raised his eyebrows at that.

“So, the couple that wants a baby, but can’t have one, has a book with symbols and sigils and all kinds of shit on a fertility goddess and they just happen to show up where murders are occurring… seeing a pattern here, Cas?”

The angel’s face was troubled.

“Dean, I don’t think Alec and Jack have anything to do with this.”

“If the shoe fits…”

“But it doesn’t. Dean, Jack and Alec are both men. Regardless of whether or not they could actually pull off summoning this goddess, it wouldn’t matter. Two men still cannot conceive or give birth to a baby.”

Dean didn’t know what to say to that.

“Well, there still the only lead we have so… just keep your eyes open.”

“If you wish,” Cas told him, sighing resignedly.

“I do. Now, let’s head out. We don’t want to be late for Ms Strong’s session.”

~*~*~*~*~*

Hannah’s dull blue eyes flicked between Dean and Cas, obviously taking in the good three feet they kept between them.

Dean shifted nervously in his seat. He was not ready for this, no way in Hell.

“Alright, Dean, Cas, why don’t we start from the beginning. I’d like to get to know you both a little better.

“Dean, you said you were part of the war… were you deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq?” Hannah asked kindly.

Dean swallowed, trying to decide which answer would get her to drop this topic.

“I… uh… you know what? I don’t think I want to talk about this,” he told her, praying she’d let it drop.

“Well, that’s understandable. Alright then, Cas, you and Dean were friends before you became involved, correct?”

Cas looked at Dean with wide eyes. Dean wasn’t sure how to help him out or how to communicate that he should just make something up but Cas seemed to read his mind.

“Yes, we were… or… I like to think we were. Though, I believe it was more… mere tolerance on Dean’s part in the beginning,” Cas told Hannah.

Dean narrowed his eyes at Cas. What was he doing? He was digging an even deeper hole for them!

“Oh, really, and why is that?”

“He… uh… he wasn’t exactly like the guys I’d normally hang out with,” Dean explained, “I thought he was kinda… dorky.”

Cas raised an eye at Dean but the hunter just shrugged.

“Yet you two eventually ended up together.”

“Well, like I said, he sorta… put me back together. There’s… uh… a lot more to him than first meets the eye.”

Hannah smiled. She seemed pleased with his answers so Dean figured he was saying the right things.

“Now… I can’t help but notice that there seems to be a distinct lack of… physical interaction between the two of you,” the blond woman spoke with a gentle smile, “would you say that’s true?”

“Uh… well… I’m not, you know, a big fan of public displays,” Dean said with a forced chuckle.

“Ah. So, when you are alone, you are completely comfortable with the physical side of your relationship?”

“Uh…” Dean swallowed hard. “Sure, yeah, no problem there.”

“Cas?” Hannah asked, turning her attention on the quiet man.

Dean glanced over at the nervous angel and nearly groaned at the wide-eyed, panicked look on Cas’s face.

“Yes… we’re… fine with it,” the other man answered.

“Okay… so, let me ask you: who instigates sexual relations between the two of you when you are alone?” Hannah asked.

Dean nearly chocked on his own tongue at her question. Once again Dean found himself blurting out the truth before he could think better of it.

“We’ve never had sex.”

Cas’s head whipped towards him, eyes wide with shock.

“Oh…” Hannah said, a knowing look in her eyes as she wrote something down in the notebook that lay across her crossed legs.

“I mean… we… uh… yeah, haven’t exactly gotten there yet,” Dean stuttered, wondering what the hell he had been thinking.

“I see. That’s completely understandable, Dean. I want you to be honest here. You admitted that you weren’t attracted to men before Cas, so it is only right to assume that you would have a few… hang-ups when it comes to sexual intimacy with a man.

“That will be one of our focuses while you are here then. We can help you overcome any preconceived notions you might have about sex with a person of the same gender,” she told him, a compassionate smile pasted on her face.

Dean glanced over at Cas and could practically read his mind. He was in deep shit. He had just made things a hundred times worse.

“Alright, Cas, then. What exactly has your experience been when it comes to sexual relations?”

Cas opened his mouth but there was no way Dean was going to let him be the experienced one in their fake relationship.

“Cas is a virgin,” he blurted out.

Castiel’s eyes shot over to his, wide and concerned.

“Oh, is that true, Cas?” Hannah asked politely.

“Um… yes. Yes, I am a… virgin,” the angel answered, shifting in his chair, another glare making its way to Dean.

“I… uh… figured we could take this slow since it’s new territory for both of us,” Dean explained in his most sincere voice.

Dean watched Cas nervously rub the back of his neck, a trait he didn’t see all that often from the usually calm and collected angel.

“Well, I think that is wonderful actually. This is something you can learn together. Cas, you have a wonderful gift you can give Dean, and Dean, Cas has no history or expectations so I believe that is the perfect start for your own journey into this uncharted territory,” Hannah explained.

“Uh… right,” Dean muttered, just barely controlling that annoying desire to roll his eyes again.

“Well, I think we’ve said enough for today. I do have a suggestion for the two of you. The first step in being comfortable enough with each other to progress to that next level is to be comfortable with each other, both mind and body.

“Do the two of you share a bed?” Hannah asked.

“Um, well, there’s only one bed in each room, so, yeah, we don’t really have a choice,” Dean answered.

“Okay, then, what do you wear when you go to bed?”

“My boxers and a t-shirt, why?”

“Cas?”

“Uh…” Cas glanced over at Dean, confusion obvious in his eyes. “The same,” he finally muttered, lowering his gaze to the floor. The hunter knew for a fact that Cas had slept fully clothed, head to toe, in his suit and trench get up the last time he’d been human.

“Well, I propose you change that. I think the two of you should sleep completely nude tonight. No barrier between you. You should be comfortable with each others bodies,” Hannah told them.

Dean looked over at Cas and saw the poor angel’s eyes wide with panic. Did Cas really think they were going to follow her insane suggestions? He was gonna have to have a talk with the guy.

“Sure… maybe we’ll try that,” Dean told her, standing up ready to get the hell out of there.

“One more thing,” Hannah said before Dean could get Cas up out of his chair.

“Yeah?” he asked, stifling a groan.

“Here,” she told him, handing him a folded piece of paper, “I really think you should look at this link, it might help answer a few of your questions the two of you are bound to have.”

“Thanks,” Dean told her, all but dragging Cas out of the room before she could order them to do something else asinine, like making out in front of her so she could observe their technique. Seriously, what was up with this woman?

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Dean was muttering expletives under his breath as he and Cas made their way back to their cabin. The angel had been very quiet since they left the meeting room and Dean was starting to worry about his friend.

“Cas, man, you know we don’t actually have to do anything she says, right?” he asked, watching the other man’s face carefully.

“Of course, it’s just… a little… this is all a little more awkward than I thought it would be. Lying is… still a new talent for me,” he admitted.

“You’re doing fine. She may think we are the most socially awkward pair that’s ever come through that gate, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. As long as we solve this case and keep anyone else from dying, then… well, we’ve won.”

Cas nodded.

“So, what do you think we should do? We have a few hours before we should head to bed…”

“Perhaps we could just… rest. Return to our cabin and… watch the television? It’s been a… stressful day.”

“That is a damn good idea. Beer and B-rated horror movies it is,” Dean told him with a smile, clasping the angel’s shoulder in a friendly grip.

Cas gave him a small smile.


	2. Part Two

Dean slowly woke up the next morning. It took him a minute to remember where he was and why there was a warm body lying next to his.

Cas was still sound asleep and Dean was rather pleased to discover they hadn't cuddled up together during the night. Sharing a bed with the other man was awkward enough with out any added fumbles.

Dean shifted slightly, contemplating getting up, when something caught his attention... something hard and obvious. His freaking angel had morning wood and it was poking him in the hip. Oh fuck.

He very carefully shifted over away from the sleeping man, praying he wouldn't wake up. Luckily, Dean was able to make his escape without waking his sleeping friend. That was one discussion he really didn't want to have.

He could see in his mind Cas's confused face and just imagine the questions the angel might ask. No thanks.

Dean hurried into the bathroom and closed the door softly. He stripped off his clothes and turned the shower on full blast. The head was one of those fancy expensive ones and the hunter was determined to make use of it as much as possible while he had the chance.

Once the temperature was perfect, he stepped into the large stall and sighed as the water pelted down on him. This? This was heaven. Grabbing the bar of soap, he languidly lathered up his body, pausing briefly when he came to his dick. He was already hanging long and heavy from the warmth of the shower. Was it too weird to jerk off with his friend just on the other side of the door? He'd never had any problems when it was Sammy sleeping only a few feet away...

Dean mentally shrugged and decided that there was no reason he should deny himself. If he had to spend the next nine days without a single available female in sight, then he deserved a little right hand action.

Dean slicked up his cock with the soap then began to stroke, quickly finding the perfect rhythm. His mind immediately sought out his favorite fantasy and he lost himself to the pleasure.

Two tall, busty brunettes usually did the trick. He let his mind wander as he pulled and squeezed on his heavy cock, biting his lip to stifle his moan, he was still conscious of the man asleep just on the other side of the door. He wondered if this was something Cas had tried when he'd been stuck as a human last time. He obviously had the same biological issues most healthy males had. If he woke up hard, did he take care of it like any other man would?

He thought about the angel's normally stoic expression and imagined how it might change with pleasure as he discovered the joys of masturbation.

He imagined wonder and lust blown pupils, blue orbs nearly disappearing around deep black. Would his angel moan? Or would he whimper? Maybe he'd be a heavy breather with the occasional gasp.

Dean sped up his strokes; he was close now, striving for that last little bit. He wondered what Cas would look like when he came. He imagined that look of wonder the angel always had when he discovered something truly amazing about humanity, but this time on a face flushed with pleasure. Dean imagined Cas grasping his arms as he brought the angel off for the first time, maybe even whispering his name reverently. That's all it took for Dean to tumble over the edge, coating the side of the shower with spurt after spurt of cum.

He panted harshly as he came down from his high. It took him about two seconds to realize what he had done.

"Ah, fuck," he mumbled, banging his head lightly against the wall of the shower to clear it of lingering images of his friend. Dean needed to get out of this place ASAP; it was apparently starting to screw with him.

He quickly washed off the rest of himself, staying as far away from his treacherous cock as possible and turned off the water. Stepping out, he toweled off his body and threw on the clothes he'd brought in for the day. He paused at the door and wondered if the other man was up yet.

If Cas was awake, could he look him in the eye? What if he was sporting serious wood? Would he give himself away? Fuck, he was screwed up. He took a deep breath. He wasn't going to give anything away because there wasn't anything he was trying to hide.

With that in mind, Dean opened the door and walked out into the room.

When he re-entered the sleeping area of their cabin, he came face to face with a very awake Cas. Thankfully, the other man was fully dressed and sitting at the desk looking at something on the laptop.

"Hey, morning," he greeted.

Cas jumped and slammed the laptop shut. When he turned to face the hunter, his face was flushed deep red.

"Good," Cas had to stop to clear his throat. "Good morning, Dean," he replied, refusing to meet the other man's eyes.

Dean was confused. What the hell had he just walked in on and more importantly... did he really want to know?

"Uh, bathroom's open," he offered. The angel jumped up and all but fled into the small room, closing and, from the sound of it, locking the door behind him.

Dean's curiosity won out and he went over to the desk. He opened up the laptop and stared at the page that popped up. Cas hadn't even bothered to close out of the browser. Dean felt his face heat up at what he found.

He was obviously looking at a gay website, if the picture of two men entwined in a heated embrace was anything to go by. He glanced at the bar at the top of the page and recognized the URL that Hannah had given them the day before.

From the main page there were links to everything under the sun. There was a "how to" link and a link to "visual examples". Dean decided that was probably just a nice term for porn.

"I was curious," a nervous voice came from way too close behind him. He jumped and spun around.

"Damn it, Cas! Don't do that!"

Cas took a step back, cheeks still stained pink.

"I'm sorry. I found the link Hannah had given us and... " the angel shrugged, looking very unsure and self-conscious at the moment.

"Dude, nothing wrong with being curious," he told the angel, hating to see that look on his friends face.

Cas raised an eyebrow at Dean.

"Okay, it's a little freaky, I admit, but, at least you weren't looking at the porn," Dean offered.

Cas still looked unsure, like he was just waiting for Dean to let him have it. The hunter felt like shit at that moment. He didn't want the angel to look like that around him, like he was a time bomb just waiting to go off.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal. We just... we'll just forget we saw it, okay? We know what the link is, we can answer honestly now if that Strong woman asks. No harm, no foul."

The shorter man seemed to relax at that. Dean felt better immediately.

"That sounds... acceptable. I'm sorry to have made you uncomfortable," Cas apologized, walking past him to pick up a black button up shirt he obviously intended to wear over the tight, gray tee shirt he was wearing at the moment. It seemed a shame to cover up...

Dean shook his head before that thought could form.

"No big deal. Now, let's go get breakfast before we have to face the Inquisition," Dean suggested, just wanting to forget the whole morning.

Cas offered a small smile and nod before following the hunter out the door. Neither remembered to close the browser or the laptop.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Dean sat nervously next to Cas at their next group session. He realized they had all taken the same seats as the day before. Humans, creatures of habit. He glanced over at Cas and tried not to laugh at how uncomfortable the angel looked. He couldn't blame his friend, though. He'd rather be anywhere but here as well.

Hannah walked into the room and the campers all quieted immediately. It was like being back in school.

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all slept well in your new accommodations," she greeted the assembled group, far too cheerfully in Dean's opinion. "Now, I want to discuss something rather important this morning.

"I noticed yesterday that many of you spoke rather... harshly to your partners, some of you were downright hurtful. I understand that many of you are struggling, that some of you are hurting, but that is still no reason for outright cruelty to your significant other.

"Your partners are people, ladies and gentlemen, with feelings and emotions. Today, we are going to work on raising up your partners rather than tearing them down," she explained. Dean shifted nervously, wondering what she could possibly have in mind for this.

"So, we will start with Allie and Lauren. Allie, I want you to share with the group something about Lauren that you admire."

Ah, fuck. What did he admire about Cas? Besides the fact that it took an entire liquor store to get the guy drunk.

He watched the small blond think for a second before she started talking.

"Well, I like that Lauren isn't afraid to speak her mind. I admire her candor. It doesn't matter to her what other people will think, she'll speak her mind regardless." The taller brunette gave her partner a surprised smile.

"Very good," Hannah told Allie before motioning for Lauren to take her turn.

"Um, I guess... I admire Allie's refusal to bend to stereotypes. She's always adamant that labels mean nothing. Gay, lesbian, straight, bi... it doesn't matter what you call someone, they're going to love who they love."

Hannah gave the two women a pleased smile. Damn, that was cheesy. Dean tried to wrack his brain for something to say about Cas.

"Alright, that was very good," Hannah praised. "Now, Jack what about you? What do you admire about Alec?"

Jack cleared his throat. Dean thought he looked pretty damn uncomfortable and he felt bad for the guy.

"I, uh, I admire how smart Alec is. I tease him about it and I know I can be kinda mean, but really, I'm kinda jealous. I mean, it's embarrassing to admit that sometimes, when he's using all these big words, that I have no idea what he's saying, but at the same time, I can't help but be proud that my boyfriend is really damn smart."

Dean let out a breath. Wow, that was a good one. Too bad he couldn't copy that, because he definitely knew where the other guy was coming from. Between Sammy and Cas, Dean could get seriously lost during one of their conversations. He glanced over at the shorter man and found the blond blushing. How sweet.

"Very nice, Jack, and honest. Alec, what about you?" Hannah asked.

"I admire Jack's bravery. As an officer, he goes out every day and puts his life on the line for total strangers. He does it because it's the right thing to do. It makes me proud," the blond man told the group quietly.

Hannah nodded before turning to meet Dean's eyes. He swallowed once before deciding to just stick with the truth. It had worked pretty well so far.

"Dean?" she asked, indicating it was his turn.

"I... I admire Cas's ability to believe, in anyone and anything. He always sees the good in people, even if they don't deserve it. He always believed in me, especially when I didn't deserve it," Dean told the group, eyes firmly glued to the floor. He was a little curious what Cas thought of what he was saying, but there was no way he could look at the angel right then.

"Very good. Cas?"

He heard the other man clear his throat before his rough voice washed over the hunter.

"I admire Dean's loyalty. He will stand by those he loves through anything. He never gives up on the people who are important to him," Cas told the assembled couples. There the damn angel went again, giving him more credit than he deserved. Dean raised his eyes and met Cas's azure orbs. He found nothing but honesty in the other man's eyes.

"Tom? What do you admire about Mike?" Hannah was asking, pulling Dean's attention away from the other man.

"I admire the way Mike is so sure of himself. He never cares what other people are thinking or saying about him, he does what he wants and is confident in his actions."

Hannah smiled at the taller man before turning to Mike.

"I admire Tom's ass."

Dean burst out into laughter. He wasn't the only one.

"Hey! It's a compliment! The man is smoking hot and he's all mine. What's not to admire?"

"Well, that was sweet," Hannah told the couple, though Dean could see doubt in her eyes. "Anne? Why don't you tell us what you admire about Sarah?"

The butch blond looked around the group before speaking.

"I admire Anne's accepting nature. She'll befriend anyone. She never has preconceived notions, everyone is this wonderful person until proven wrong."

Dean thought maybe he was imagining it, but the taller woman didn't sound all that sincere.

"Sarah?"

"I admire Anne's ability to love. When she cares about someone, she puts her whole self behind them, she's protective and willing to stick up for them, against anything."

"Very good, all of you. I hope you each got something from this exercise. I want you to think back on today the next time to start to offer up some rude or hurtful words towards your partner. Remember how nice it felt to have the person you love honestly building you up and perhaps offer them a compliment rather than a degrading comment. You are dismissed, go, enjoy your free time and I'll see each of you for your scheduled one on one time," Hannah told them, bidding them goodbye with another of her bright, painful smiles.

Dean jumped up and all but dragged Cas out of the meeting room. He didn't want to stay in there any longer than was necessary. Judging by the way the angel rushed to keep up with him, the feeling was mutual.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

When Dean and Cas got back to their cabin, they were both tense and avoiding each other’s eyes. Finally, the angel spoke up.

"Is this our plan for the remainder of our time here? To tell the truth as often as possible?"

Dean glanced over at his friend and shrugged.

"It seems to work pretty well. You know, they always say the best lies are rooted in the truth."

Cas nodded at that then tilted his head slightly to the side.

"You know, it does leave less to remember."

Dean laughed at that and immediately the awkwardness faded.

"Seriously, though, the best thing Mike could say about Tom was that he had a nice ass?" Dean asked, plopping down on their bed.

"I'm sure there are plenty of women in your past where a 'nice ass' is the best of their qualities," Cas pointed out, sitting down beside Dean on the bed.

"Well, yeah, sure, for a random fuck, but we're talking life partners here. Someone you care enough about to go through all this trouble and the best thing you can come up with about them is 'nice ass'? I think they have bigger issues than we do," Dean told the other man. Cas raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, 'than we're supposed to have'."

Dean paused at that.

"Yeah, that's what I meant. Jesus, Cas, you know what I meant," Dean told him, giving the angel a light shove and offering him a forced smirk.

"Right," Cas told him, falling back on the bed. "Wake me up in time for lunch, please. I forgot how much I enjoyed sleeping."

"Sure thing, Man," Dean agreed, laying back on the bed himself, though he had no intention of sleeping, rather he intended to remind himself why he hated being here and exactly what kind of girl he was going to find as soon as they were done with this case. He was definitely not thinking about Cas's admiration of his loyalty or his fantasy from this morning.

This place was driving him slowly insane. The sooner they could get out of here, the better.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lunch was once again shared with Alec and Jack. Dean was slowly learning to be comfortable around the couple; he was even starting to like Jack. The cop was nothing like Dean expected, so opposite of a stereotypical gay guy that he was a little ashamed to even have those preconceived notions. All in all, Jack was an okay guy.

Alec and Jack seemed to be getting along much better today and Dean had to wonder if Hannah's methods had something to them after all. The two kept shooting each other small, shy smiles and Dean would think it gross if it wasn't so damn cute.

Cas was just finishing up his salad, and Dean was going to have to have some serious words with his brother about introducing his angel to rabbit food, when Jack spoke up.

"So, Hannah said there were some natural steam springs about a quarter mile down the Bannon Trail, we thought we'd go check them out. You guys interested?" Jack asked.

Dean glanced at Cas. The angel's brow was furrowed in thought.

"What about the bear attacks we've heard about?" Dean asked the other man.

"Hannah said they killed the bear the weekend before this session started," Jack responded.

"I walked down there this morning. It's really peaceful and there are some really interesting etchings around the springs I’d like to look at," Alec told them.

Dean met Cas's eyes and could see the angel was as curious as he was about these etchings.

"Uh, that sounds awesome but we didn't bring our swim trunks. We'll tag along though, it sounds like it would be cool to see," Dean offered.

"Oh, don't worry about the trunks. We didn't either. Just grab some towels and boxers, or, hell, your birthday suit for that matter. We're all guys, nothing we haven't seen, right?" Jack told them.

Dean's eyes widened as he met his angel's concerned blue orbs. Yeah, nothing they haven't seen, right... not.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just give us a few minutes to run down to our cabin and get our towels," Dean told the other couple.

"Sure. How about we meet you at the trailhead in a quarter hour?" Jack asked.

"Sure, sounds good," Dean agreed, jumping out of his seat and motioning for Cas to follow him.

Once they were out of sight of the other couple, Cas turned worried eyes to the hunter.

"They expect us to swim in the nude with them?"

"Dude, chill. We don't have to, you heard him. We can just wear boxers."

Cas nodded but Dean thought he still looked uncomfortable.

When they reached the cabin, Dean left Cas on the front porch while he ran in to grab a couple towels. A folded piece of paper on the still open laptop caught his eye as he was leaving. Shit, they'd never closed out of that damn website.

Walking over to the desk, Dean cautiously picked up the folded paper and opened it. He recognized the handwriting as his brother's. Groaning, he read the note.

Dean,  
Something you want to tell me? You know I won't judge you, right? Hell, we all knew you guys had a "profound bond".

~Sam

Dean rolled his eyes as he crumpled up the note. Damn it. Sam was seriously gonna pay. He tossed the paper into a trashcan sitting beside the desk and walked back out to meet Cas.

"Let's go," he growled when he reached the angel's side.

"Something wrong?" Cas asked, brow furrowed in worry.

"Yeah, I have a douche bag for a brother," he answered.

Cas continued to look at him with a confused look on his face.

"Never mind. I'll tell you later."

With that, Dean sped up the pace, walking purposefully towards the trail marker they were supposed to meet Jack and Alec at.

The other couple was already there when Dean and Cas came to the trailhead. Jack had Alec pressed against a tall pine tree and was trying to devour the other's mouth.

Cas cleared his throat, the sound pulling Dean's gaze away from the show in front of them. Jack pulled back and lazily glanced over at the pair, a confident smirk graced his features.

Dean glanced at the shorter man and noticed Alec’s swollen lips and flushed face. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable and thought about making an excuse why they couldn't go with the other couple.

"Sorry. Sometimes Jack just can't keep it in his pants," Alec apologized, pushing the taller man away from him. Jack just chuckled before reaching out to twine hands with the blond.

Dean made sure to keep his eyes firmly above waist level. There were some things he didn't need to see and, personally, if he'd just had a make out session like that, he'd be hard enough to pound nails... not that he'd ever have a make out session just like that, but, you know, if it'd been a girl.

"Come on, it's not far," Alec told them, pulling Jack along as the pair led the way into the woods.

"Keep your eyes open and stay close," Dean whispered in Cas's ear. The angel just nodded.

It didn't take long at all for the trail to open up to a small pool, edged in rocky outcroppings with a small waterfall on the far side. Steam was leisurely wafting up from the surface.

"Here we are," Alec told the group, setting a small red cooler down and dropping their towels next to it. He immediately started stripping off his clothing. Dean's eyes widened in worry but thankfully the other man stopped at his boxers. He walked over and stood at the edge of the pool, eyeing the waterfall on the other side.

"You guys coming?" he asked, turning back to face them.

"I'll be in in a few. Think I'll have a beer first," Jack answered, nodding towards the red cooler. "Want one, Dean?"

Dean gave a relieved sigh. Beer.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, man," the hunter replied. He turned toward Cas just as the other man was taking off his pants. Dean froze at the sight before him. Cas stood back up and met Dean's shocked gaze. The angel stood there, clad only in a pair of tight, black boxer briefs. He raised an eyebrow at Dean.

"I am going to go in with Alec. Those etchings look very interesting," his friend told him, an amused smile on his face.

"Uh... Yeah, okay," Dean replied once his head had cleared. An amused chuckle drew his attention. Jack had taken off his shirt but left his jeans on and was handing Dean a beer. He took the bottle with a grateful smile.

"Come on, man, get comfortable,” the other man told him as Cas waded into the pool. Dean hesitantly took off his shirt and sat down next to Jack, back against a tree. He watched the angel and Alec swim over to the rocks at the base of the small waterfall where he could just make out a couple weird symbols. He'd have to get Sammy out here to take a look.

"You've got a good guy," Jack spoke up, interrupting his musings.

"Uh, yeah, I know. He's pretty special," Dean replied, trying to think of what else a besotted boyfriend would say.

"You know, I get it, Dean. I really do."

Dean glanced over at Jack, confused about what it was that Jack got. His confusion must have shown on his face because the other man took a swig of his beer then started talking.

"I was married, ya know. Before Alec. Like, married married, to a woman," he told Dean. The hunter nearly chocked on his beer. How the hell did the man go from a wife to a boyfriend?

"We had a son, Mark," Jack continued and Dean grew even more confused.

"Had?" the hunter asked.

"Yeah, had. I was working the night shift and Mark was just shy of two years old. He had an ear infection and the only thing Denise could do to calm him down was to load him up in the car and go for a drive," Jack paused to take another sip of his beer and Dean swore he could see tears in the other man's blue eyes. "They were only a block from the house when a drunk driver plowed through a red light and hit them. My wife died on impact they said, and Mark passed on the ambulance ride to the hospital."

Dean stared at the other man, his heart aching at the naked pain on his face.

"I didn't look at anyone for a long time after that, and you can imagine my surprise when the only person to make it past my steel barriers was the geeky high school teacher that lived next door to me. He brought me food for the first weeks after the funerals, he'd let me just sit there and brood, then, when the anger came, he'd sit there and let me rant and rage at him.

"So, Dean, I get it. The shock and confusion that comes with trading in a pair of boobs for a dick, but let me assure you, it doesn't make you any less of a man to take it up the ass."

Dean felt his face heat up at Jack's blunt words, and yeah, the taller man on the bottom? He did not see that one coming.

"You don't have to be one or the other, you know. You can be ninety-nine percent straight and one percent gay, for Cas.

"He seems like a good guy, but let me give you some advice: no man is a saint. I almost lost Alec because it took me so damn long to get my head out of my ass, don't wait too long."

Dean took a large gulp of his beer while he tried to think of something to say.

A shadow fell over him, drawing his attention and buying him some time. He glanced up to find Cas standing over him, dripping wet and boxers clinging obscenely to his body. Damn... what was his angel hiding under there? Dean whipped his eyes back up to Cas's face as Jack stood up.

"I'm gonna go join Al," he told them, offering Dean an encouraging smile before stripping off his jeans and underwear and running, bare assed, into the pool.

"You should come in, Dean, there's something I want to show you," Cas told him, reaching down and hauling him up by his arm.

"Uh," Dean started but broke off when the angel stepped in close, his hands going to the button of Dean's jeans. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Playing a part," the angel whispered back, undoing the button and pulling down the zip, "and taking off your pants."

Dean's dick twitched at his friend’s words. It didn't help matters when the other man sank down to his knees, putting his face directly in front of the hunter's crotch, pulling his jeans down as he went. Dean stared at the dark head below him. All he'd have to do was reach down and pull the angel a little further...

"Are you going to step out any time today?" Cas asked. That snapped Dean out of his daze.

"Where'd you learn to be a smart ass?"

"You."

"Get a room!" Jack called out jokingly from the middle of the pool. Dean watched a faint flush creep up his angel's face.

"Hey! You were the ones sucking face earlier," Dean called back as Cas stood up. The angel reached over and grabbed Dean's hand, tugging until the hunter followed him into the pool. As soon as they were waist deep in the water, Cas hastily let go. Dean refused to think about why holding hands with the other man only disturbed him slightly rather that totally freak him out like it should.

Cas led him over to the rocks he and Alec had been looking at earlier. Dean glanced over at the other pair and found them once again lip-locked together. He turned back to Cas and the etchings.

"So," ha asked quietly, "recognize it?"

"It's Enochian. More warding against angels."

"So... think whoever is hiding something out here?" he asked.

"It's possible. We should return later and take pictures to send back to Bobby. There are two symbols on the other side I don't recognize."

"Alright. We can head back after our torture session," Dean suggested.

Cas nodded then glanced over at the other pair. They were no longer making out but rather cuddled up together whispering God knows what into each other’s ears.

"They seem happy," Cas commented.

"Yeah. They had a pretty rough start apparently. They deserve it," Dean said.

"Even though they are two men?" Cas asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes, even though they are both men," Dean told the angel grudgingly.

Cas smiled. A real smile. It was nice to see.

Dean and Cas finally pulled themselves out of the water when their one on one session time neared. Dean hadn't thought far enough ahead when he had grabbed their towels to grab a spare pair of boxers. He was now faced with an interesting dilemma. He and Cas were both soaked to the bone, boxers included. They had their towels and their dry clothes, so they were left with two options.

They could either walk back to their cabin in just their boxers, or strip down and go commando. While Dean was weighing the options, Cas leaned over and stripped of his boxers.

Dean couldn't help but stare as Cas tossed the wet item aside and grabbed his jeans. The water had been very warm and the effect was obvious. Cas's cock was hanging long and heavy between his surprisingly muscled thighs. He was circumcised, or, rather Jimmy had been circumcised, and Dean was stopping that thought right there.

He quickly averted his eyes and turned his back on the other man. He stripped his own boxers off and pulled his dry jeans over his still wet skin. It wasn't all that easy, but there was no way he was spending any more time naked around Cas then was necessary while his traitorous cock was insistent on not behaving.

When he turned back around, his friend was waving good-bye to the other couple, who were far too close together and way too flushed for Dean's comfort. The sooner they gave them some privacy, the better.

Dean offered his own wave goodbye then turned and headed back down the trail. Cas quickly caught up with him and fell into step alongside him, shoulder brushing his own every few steps. He thought the silence should have been uncomfortable, but it wasn't.

"What do you think will be required of us at our next session?" the angel asked, finally breaking the silence. Dean glanced over at the shorter man and noticed the worried look he wore.

"Hell if I know. Probably want to critique our make out technique."

Cas shot Dean a wide-eyed, scared look.

"Dude, I'm joking. Probably just more talking about our feelings or some shit," Dean told him in an attempt to reassure the angel.

Cas swallowed and glanced forward once more.

"Perhaps it will be painless," the angel muttered.

"Yeah, I doubt that."

When Dean and Cas made it back to their cabin, the hunter offered the angel first dibs on the shower. While Cas was in the bathroom, Dean pulled out his cell and called his brother.

"Dean?"

"Hey, Sam. How's it going?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"It's hell. Enough said. Seen anything out of the ordinary, yet?"

"Besides gay porn on your laptop?"

"It wasn't porn! It was homework for the psycho bitch that runs this place."

"Right..."

"Bitch."

"Jerk. And to answer your question, no, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary, though I haven't really had a chance to look much. Mrs. Strong has me cleaning the freaking cabins! The job said 'handyman' not 'maid'."

"Stop your bitching, Sammy. Meet us back at our cabin at four. Will that work? Cas and I have something to show you."

"Sure. See ya then."

"Bye, Sam."

"Later, Dean."

Dean snapped his phone shut as Cas came out of the bathroom. Nodding at his friend, he grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom, intent on getting ready for his next torture session.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean and Cas walked into their one on one session hesitantly that afternoon. He had no idea what Hannah was going to have them talking about but he was pretty sure it was going to be uncomfortable and embarrassing. He sat down in one chair and made sure Cas's chair was a little closer than yesterday. The last thing he needed was for Hannah to request they participate in some weird exercise meant to make them more comfortable with each other in front of her.

The blond woman walked into the room, all cheery smiles and bouncy personality. It was enough to make Dean sick.

"Good afternoon, Dean, Cas," she greeted the pair. "How did you sleep last night?" Hannah asked with a knowing smile.

Dean glanced over at Cas and caught the angel's panicked look. This session was not starting on a good note.

"Uh, well, it was... different," Dean answered vaguely.

"I understand if you were uncomfortable. It's something you may have to work your way up to, but it's good that you tried," she told them. "Now, I thought about the two of you for quite a while last night, trying to decide on a good topic for today's discussion."

Dean did not like the sound of that.

"So many good relationships get off to a rocky physical start due to miscommunication," she started, eyeing both men. "Neither partner is familiar with the other's preferences and many times one or the other doesn't know how to communicate what they do desire so that both partners are left clueless and fumbling to please their significant other."

Dean shifted nervously in his seat. No, he really didn't like where this was going.

"So, we are going to discuss your likes and dislikes when it comes to the physical side of your relationship.

"Dean, let's start with you. I want you to tell Cas a fantasy you have. We all have something we desire, something we would love to experience. Tell your partner what that is."

Dean stared at the blond woman, mouth slack with shock. Was she being serious? He was supposed to describe a fantasy? What the hell? He had a feeling Hannah would not be pleased with his two busty brunettes. Hell, that would probably get him a nice, long, excruciating lecture. Well, he could just take one of his tamer fantasies and... substitute Cas for the chick. She'd never know the difference.

"Well, um," Dean cleared his throat before continuing. He pulled up the first thing that came to his mind. "Sex outside. Somewhere nice and quiet, away from the world, out under the stars. Maybe a pond or a lake nearby. The sound of water is soothing," he started, his mind immediately going to the heated pool from earlier. He imagined that pool at night, crickets chirping and Cas, naked, laying beside him. His dick started to harden in his jeans.

"That's very romantic, Dean," Hannah gushed, a pleased smile on her face. Dean glanced at his friend and found blue lust filled eyes trained on him. His cock twitched against the too tight denim.

"Cas? What about you?"

The angel licked his lips before dragging his eyes away, staring instead at the floor.

"Sex, in the Impala... While trying to hide it from his brother," the angel's gravelly voice washed over Dean. He felt his dick swell at his friend's words. He was throbbing now, there was no denying it. He could just imagine sneaking out of one of their cheap motel rooms to meet the angel, rushing to get what they wanted before Sammy came looking.

He glanced over at Cas again and met his eyes, pupils blown with lust, just like he'd imagined this morning.

"It's always the quiet ones," Hannah said with a smile, causing Cas to jerk his eyes away and flush a deep red. Dean dragged his gaze to the annoying woman, wondering what the hell she was going to ask them now.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now that the ice is broken, let's discuss your bodies."

"What, you're gonna ask what size dicks we have so you can determine if they're gonna fit where they're supposed to?" Dean bit out, dreading the next conversation.

Hannah gave him a penetrating look.

"Oh, I assure you, regardless of penis size, it will fit where it's supposed to, with an appropriate amount of preparation." Dean felt his face heat up at her words. There was no way that wouldn't be painful, preparation or not. "But, no, that wasn't what I intended to discuss with you, though, if that is a concern of yours, you are more than welcome to ask questions."

"No! Uh, I mean, no, that's fine, really," Dean hurried to assure her. That was a conversation he really didn't want to have right now... or ever for that matter.

"Alright, in that case, let's move on, shall we? Cas, we'll start with you this time. I know you and Dean told me that you are a virgin, so, please, don't feel pressured by anything we discuss this week. What I offer are mere suggestions, you should never do anything you don't feel comfortable with or ready for." Dean wondered if that applied to sitting through these ridiculous sessions. He watched the angel nod hesitantly.

"Good. Now, why don't you tell Dean something he has done, physically that you've enjoyed." Dean saw his friend's eyes widen in panic. The angel swallowed twice before opening his mouth to speak only nothing came out. He watched as his angel started to breath faster. Dean was worried for a second that the other man was going to hyperventilate.

"I... I, uh..." Cas stood up suddenly. "I'm sorry," he mumbled before fleeing the room. Dean stared at the door in shock before turning to glare at the woman seated before him.

"Are you happy now," he growled. Hannah gave him a contrite look. Dean stood up so he was towering over the blond. "You couldn't just leave him alone, could you? You couldn't see that this was way out of his comfort zone? Jesus, lady, you're supposed to be a professional. You couldn't see that he was so beyond uncomfortable?" Dean raged before storming out of the door.

He wondered where Cas would go. Fortunately he didn't have to look far. The other man was sitting just at the wood line, back against a tree and head buried in his hands. He looked so dejected, Dean wanted to storm back in and yell at Hannah some more, make her feel as bad as she had made the angel feel.

He slowly walked over to his friend, not wanting to startle the other man. Cas glanced up when he neared, but refused to look him in the eye.

"Come on. Let's get back to the cabin. I've got some Hunter's Helper. I think we could both use a shot," he told the despondent man, offering a hand to help him back to his feet. Cas stared at the proffered hand before finally grasping it and allowing Dean to pull him up. He let go the second he was upright once more and kept a healthy distance between the two of them the entire walk back.

The silence on the walk back was tense and uncomfortable and Dean didn't like it. Gone was the smiling man who bumped shoulders with him, who teased him and laughed at their situation. In his place was Castiel, stoic angel of the Lord, uncomfortable in his own skin. The hunter wanted the other man back.

When they made it back to the cabin, Cas plopped down on the bed and gave a dejected sigh. Dean walked over to the kitchen area and pulled out two tumblers. He filled each with a few ice cubes and followed that with three fingers of whiskey each. He walked back over to his friend and offered him a glass.

"Thank you," Cas told him, voice low and extra gravelly. The angel downed the alcohol and Dean had to smile. He wondered if the other man remembered that he was currently human. He tried to think of something to say to lighten the mood, to bring back the banter from earlier.

"So... the Impala, Cas, really?" he asked with a smile. His words had the opposite effect he'd hoped for. The angel slammed down the empty glass and jumped to his feet. He turned furious blue eyes on the hunter and stalked towards the shocked man.

"It was all I could think of!" he growled.

"Whoa, chill out, it's fine," Dean told the angry man, carefully putting his own still full glass down. Cas took another step towards him, placing the angel right up in Dean's personal space.

"What are we even doing here, Dean? We are chasing a murderer, hunting a monster, why are we subjecting ourselves to that woman? It's a waste of time."

"Hey, back off. I'm not any more comfortable with this than you are, but we need the time to figure out what we're after and the chance to investigate the area, and we can't do that if we don't play nice with the psycho woman."

Cas seemed to calm down a hair after Dean's words.

"I'm sorry. This place is... starting to get to me," Cas admitted.

"And you think it's not getting to me?" Dean asked incredulously.

"I didn't say it wasn't. But you have experiences you can twist and use and... make it work. I don't. I can only make up so many things!" Cas ranted, growing angry again. "How am I supposed to make something up when I don't have the first inkling where to begin? No one has ever touched me in any way pleasurable! I don't even know where to start!" he spit out, face a mixture between anger and embarrassment.

Dean had no idea what possessed him to do what he did next, but he found himself leaning in and roughly smashing his lips against the other man's, swallowing the surprised grunt that came out of Cas's mouth upon impact. His angel had never had someone touch him for the sake of pleasure? Well, that was something Dean could do, something he could offer.

He raised one hand to grasp the back of Cas's neck and laid his other hand on the angel's hip, pulling him flush against his body. The other man was tense in his arms for only a second or two before he hesitantly brought his own hands up to rest on Dean's hips. The hunter flicked out his tongue, running it along the seal of the angel's lips, coaxing the other man to open up to him.

When Cas finally gave in and opened up to Dean, the taller man nearly groaned. Quickly, he delved into the hot depths of the mouth attached to his. He let his tongue tangle with Cas's. The other man wasn't passive for long. He pushed hard against the hunter, slamming the taller body into the wall of the cabin. Cas's tongue was battling his own for dominance as the angel tried to take control of the kiss.

Dean was assaulted with memories of his angel shoving that demon bitch up against the wall of that hellhole, just like this. He growled as hot jealousy seeped through his blood. He rolled his hips against the other man's, pleased to feel the hard line of Cas's cock straining against the jeans his friend wore.

Cas responded in kind, pressing his hips against Dean's so that their erections were pressed together.

A loud knock sounded through the cabin, pulling Dean back to reality. He pulled his head back from his angel's, taking in the blown pupils, flushed skin and swollen lips. His angel looked down right fuckable all debauched like this.

The knock came again, snapping Dean out of his lust induced daze. He rested his forehead against Cas's, both breathing harshly into the silence.

"Fuck. That's gotta be Sam. I told him to meet us back here," Dean finally spoke up. Cas let out a shaky breath.

"And how are we going to explain this?" the shorter man asked, voice wrecked.

Dean thought for a minute before pulling away from the angel. He grabbed some clothes and shoved them into the confused man's arms.

"Go take a shower. I'll make something up," he told Cas. The angel nodded before turning and heading into the bathroom. Another knock, this one harsher than the last, sounded through the cabin as Cas closed the door. Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair, willing his erection to go away.

He walked over to the door and flung it open.

"Jesus, Sammy, give a guy a minute," he bit out. Sam froze and just stared at his brother. Dean knew what he looked like and decided maybe bluffing his way through was his best bet. "You ask, and I'll beat the shit out of you."

Sam's eyebrows rose to meet his bangs. His brother just continued to stare.

"Uh, okay. Where's Cas?" he asked, glancing around the empty cabin.

"Taking a shower," Dean answered, closing the door behind his brother.

"Oh," Sam said, a knowing smirk on his face.

"Sam," Dean warned.

"I didn't say anything."

"Right. When Cas gets out, he's gonna take you down to the pool we were at earlier. There was some extra warding around there that looked fishy. Take a few pictures so we can send them on to Bobby," Dean told him, switching into work mode.

"What are you going to be doing?" Sam asked. Dean nodded towards his laptop.

"Research. I'm gonna look up everything I can find on an Aztec goddess, Coatlicue."

"Coatlicue?" Sam asked curiously.

"Yeah, Cas said one of the symbols was her name, figure that's a good place to start."

Sam nodded in agreement.

The two brothers sat down at the small table to wait for the angel. It was only slightly uncomfortable. Sam seemed to be keeping his comments to himself, for which Dean was grateful. Eventually, Cas emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed but hair wet and tousled. His face was faintly pink, but otherwise he looked pretty normal.

"Hey, Cas," Sam greeted.

"Hello, Sam," Cas replied, refusing to meet Dean's eyes as he made his way over to the bed. The angel sat down and pulled on his shoes. "Did Dean tell you about the sigils around the pool?"

"Yeah. He's ordered pictures," Sam replied with a smile. "He's actually going to be doing the research. Maybe this place hasn't been all bad for him," Sam mused.

"No, perhaps it has done some good," Cas agreed, finally meeting Dean's eyes. The hunter could see a hundred questions in his friend's blue orbs, but none that he could answer here, in front of his brother. Hell, he wasn't even sure he knew how to answer them once they were alone. Good thing he'd have time to think while Cas and Sam were out. For now, he offered the angel a small, reassuring smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sam's gaze moved between his brother and the angel. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what he had interrupted. Or at least he had a good idea. He'd cock blocked his brother enough times to recognize a horny, pissed off Dean. He really thought about saying something, but he didn't know if it was his place. On the one hand, whomever Dean chose to fuck around with, that was his business, on the other hand, the people his brother usually messed around with at least understood the rules.

Cas was so damn innocent when it came to human relations, Sam was pretty sure he was in way over his head with this.

Though, if Dean had finally woken up and realized he was head over heels for his angel, then maybe this was more than just his brother using their friend for sexual release.

Sam decided he'd hold off on the lecture for now. He had some time alone with the angel coming up and he could use that time to subtly question the other man.

"Are you ready, Sam?" Cas asked calmly.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go. We'll be back as soon as we can," Sam told his brother.

Dean just waved the pair out the door, eyes never leaving the laptop he had open.

Cas led Sam down the path from the cabin to the wood line, then down a path that wound around the camp right on the edge of the forest. He paused when they came to a bright red trail marker.

"It's not far down this trail. Are you ready?" the angel asked.

Sam nodded. He followed the shorter man down the small, well-used trail.

"So, um, how are things?" Sam asked his friend, hoping to spark up a conversation. Cas shot a glance at him before staring back at the trail before them.

"Fine," the other man answered shortly.

"You sure?"

"What would be wrong?"

"Nothing in particular, I was just wondering how you were handling the whole being human thing, if there was anything you might want to talk about."

"Sam, I'm hardly going to be traumatized by my time as a human. I have been without my grace before. This is only temporary."

"I know, but last time, the only humans you were around were Bobby, me and Dean. This is a lot different. I was just checking," he told his friend.

"I appreciate the gesture, then, but I'm fine."

Sam sighed. He obviously wasn't going to get anything out of Cas. The angel had obviously been taking lessons from Dean on avoidance.

It didn't take long for the pair to reach the pool. Cas turned to face Sam.

"The symbols are on the other side of the pool. There are Enochian symbols on the left and two I don't recognize on the right. If we walk around the edge, you should be able to get close enough to take a photograph without having to get in the water," Cas explained.

Sam nodded and followed the angel around the steaming pool, heading for the right side first. He was leaning over to get the best angle for a picture when he saw it. Just behind the small waterfall was a dark opening.

"Cas? I think there's a cave back there."

"Really? We didn't notice that yesterday."

"Give me a hand, I'm gonna see if I can get back there," Sam told the other man.

Cas came over to where Sam was standing. The hunter handed Cas his cell phone and the handgun he'd hidden in the band of his jeans.

"That's loaded with silver rounds," he told Cas, hoping the other man wouldn't actually have to use the weapon.

"And, will that kill whatever you expect to find in there?"

Sam shrugged. He had no idea what he expected to find so he'd packed what he thought would do the most damage to the most creatures, hence the silver. The hunter leaned over as far as he could, trying to get a good look into the small cave opening. He could feel the other man behind him, leaning over as well.

The first time he heard it, he passed it off as typical forest sounds. The second time, Cas heard it as well.

"Sam? What was that?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. It sounded like a low growl, but not from any animal the hunter had ever seen. What happened next, Sam would be hard pressed to describe in any kind of detail. It happened in a flash of black fur, yellowed fangs and glowing red eyes.

Sam felt a large body slam into his, throwing him back against Cas and knocking the other man down. He could feel hot, rancid breath on his face as he used all his strength to keep the mongrel's fangs from chomping down on his throat. The loud report of a gun sounded near his ear. The animal on top of him yelped and went limp on his chest. Using all the strength he possessed, he shoved the still carcass off of him.

Sam glanced up to see Cas sprawled across a jutting rock, gun still held out in front of him.

"I guess silver will kill them," the angel said in a shaky voice.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, noticing how the shorter man was clutching at his left hip.

"Yes, I think so. I hit the rock with my hip, hard, but I don't think anything is broken."

Sam started to ask if the other man was going to be able to walk back when he heard more growling coming from the small cave mouth.

"Fuck. There's more. Cas, run!" Sam shouted as large, black dog-like creatures started pouring out from behind the waterfall. He bent over and yanked the shorter man upright when he realized Cas was struggling to stand. Once on his feet, the angel seemed to be okay. Both men took off sprinting. They ran down a different trail, one Sam thought led in the direction of the main house.

Sam could hear snarling behind them but when he chanced a glance over his shoulder, he couldn't see the beasts.

It was while he was looking over his shoulder that it happened. He and Cas came to the top of a high ridge over-looking the main house when Castiel tripped. Sam reached out when he realized what was happening, but it was too late to stop it. All he managed to do was tangle himself up with the falling angel. He grunted in pain as he tumbled down, landing hard on the other man before both started to tumble down the sharp incline.

Rocks and branches dug painfully into tender skin. Elbows and knees slammed into sensitive areas as the pair rolled over each other. When they finally came to a rough stop at the foot of the hill, Sam's breath was knocked out of his chest as he landed harshly on something hard and unyielding.

The hunter lay still as he fought to regain both his breath and his equilibrium. He listened carefully for any sign of the creatures that had chased them through the forest but the only sound that reached his ears was harsh breathing; breathing that was coming from underneath him.

He carefully raised the top half of his body to gaze down into the shocked, pain-filled eyes of his friend. He had apparently landed right on top of the other man. He opened his mouth to apologize but a shocked, angry voice stopped him in his tracks.

"What is going on here?"

Sam's gaze shot up to meet the dull blue eyes of his employer. Behind her was a couple from the camp, one very tall dark haired man and one shorter, very gay looking man with spiky, light brown hair.

"Mr. Wesson! What do you think you are doing?" she asked angrily. It was then that it dawned on Sam how this might look. He quickly jumped up off of Cas, trying not to appear guilty. He reached down and helped his friend stand up. He noticed a small cut on his right temple and a burgeoning bruise on his right cheekbone. Sam wondered if he looked as bad.

"Mike, Tom, why don't we pick this up at our next session?" she asked the couple. The taller man nodded and turned away. The shorter man was leering at Sam, making the hunter very uncomfortable. Finally he nodded as well and turned to follow his partner.

"Cas, are you okay?" Hannah asked in a worried tone.

Cas nodded, leaning slightly towards Sam. The taller man wondered if the angel was aware of what he was doing.

Hannah glanced between the two men. Sam could see suspicion in her eyes.

"Mr. Wesson, please return to your quarters and I will be by shortly to speak with you," Hannah told him harshly. Sam glanced at Cas, unsure if he should leave him alone or not.

"It's fine," Castiel told him quietly. Sam nodded before walking off towards the main house.

*^*^*^*^*^*

Castiel watched Sam walk away and fought against the impulse to call the other man back. He did not like this Hannah woman and he would rather have someone with him when dealing with her. He desperately wished Dean were standing beside him.

"Cas, listen, I know things are... hard right now with Dean, and I know you aren't very happy with me right now so you probably don't want to hear anything I have to say, but please, take my advice. Don't do it," Hannah told him.

Castiel was confused. What exactly was she warning him against? His confusion must have shown on his face. Hannah sighed before continuing.

"You will regret it if you betray Dean like this."

That shocked the angel. How was he betraying Dean?

"I would never betray Dean," he answered honestly.

Hannah sighed and gave him a look he couldn't decipher.

"Just give Dean time. He'll come around. If you start something, if you pursue this with Mr. Wesson, there will be no taking it back."

Castiel just nodded, finally catching on to what Hannah was talking about. She had wrongly presumed he was involved in some kind of affair with Sam. He might laugh if he wasn't so sore. The sooner he could convince her he was contrite and would not stray, the sooner he could escape and return to Dean.

"I... I wasn't thinking. It won't happen again," he assured the annoying woman. She stared at him for a moment before finally nodding.

"In that case, I will see you tomorrow at our group session. Go talk to Dean, it'll help."

Castiel nodded before rushing off towards his and Dean's cabin, trying hard to ignore the shooting pain in his hip.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Dean stared at the laptop. He'd gone through half a dozen websites since Cas and his brother had left and each one told a slightly different story about the Aztec goddess. He had no idea what was true and what was lore.

He rubbed tiredly at his eyes. He'd avoided thinking about Cas and their earlier impromptu make out session, but he knew his angel and Sam would be back soon, and he needed a game plan. How was he supposed to act? Should he pretend it never happened? Maybe he should act normal, like it happened but wasn't that big of a deal.

Before Dean could decide which path to take, the cabin door opened. Dean took a deep breath, determined to play it cool. When he glanced up to greet the other man, he froze at the sight that greeted him.

Cas was walking across the room slowly, as if he was in pain. His face had a nasty cut and an even nastier bruise blooming on his cheek.

"What the hell, Cas?" he asked, getting up and walking over to the limping man.

"Sam and I were attacked. They looked like... small hellhounds," Cas told him.

"Is Sam okay?"

"I believe so. He was sent back to his living quarters when we were caught by Hannah."

"Hannah caught you snooping around?"

"No. She found us after we'd fallen down a steep incline behind the main house. She now believes we are involved in some kind of affair," the angel growled, gingerly sitting down on the bed.

"Wanna run that last part by me again," Dean asked, sure he'd misheard the other man.

"Hannah found us after we had tumbled down a steep hill. When we landed, it was in a rather... compromising position. Your brother was on top of me. Hannah... assumed the wrong thing," Cas explained.

Dean stared at his friend, trying really hard not to laugh.

"What did you say to her?"

"Not much. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't very well tell her the truth so I made my escape as quickly as possible."

"Dude, that's kinda funny," Dean told the other man, finally cracking a smile. "You look like shit, though. I have some cream we can put on those bruises to help them heal then we can get you some aspirin. I'm afraid you're gonna be pretty sore tomorrow."

Dean walked over to his bag and started rummaging through it for his first aid kit he always carried with him. When he found it, he turned back to the bed.

"Why don't you strip down and we'll make sure you don't have any serious injuries? I noticed you limping when you came in," Dean told him. Cas nodded and started to take off his shirt.

"I feel on some rocks and it may have scraped my hip," Cas explained.

"Alright, we'll look at it to make sure it's not something worse and get it cleaned."

Once Cas's shirt was off, the angel stood up and carefully pulled off his jeans. Dean felt the now familiar arousal stir at the sight of his angel nearly naked. He curbed his desire when he caught sight of the angry bruise blossoming on the other man's hip. He could only see the top of it; Cas’s boxers hid the rest. This was going to be tricky.

"Uh, it goes pretty far down," he told his friend. "Are you comfortable with taking off your boxers? You can cover up the, uh, important parts with a sheet."

Cas blushed at Dean's question but he tugged down his boxers nonetheless. When the angel was standing completely naked in front of Dean, the hunter had to swallow hard to stop a groan from creeping up.

"Lay down on the bed, we'll take care of your hip first."

Cas carefully sat down on the bed before hoisting himself higher and lying back on the pillows piled at the head of the bed. The sight of his angel spread out naked on their bed almost did him in. Thankfully, his friend was still soft and in pain or Dean would not be able to control himself.

He sat down next to his friend and pulled a sheet over Cas's lap, covering the important parts but leaving his hip open to the cool air of their cabin. He opened the tub of cream and dipped two fingers in, gathering the white stuff and carefully started to rub it into the tender, discolored skin on Cas's hip. The angel hissed at the action. Dean wasn't sure if it was because it hurt or because this stuff was colder than shit.

He finished applying the cream as quickly as possible. When he was done, he asked Cas to roll over so he could check his back. Sure enough, there were some pretty nasty bruises littering his shoulders and a couple low on his back. He supposed it could have been worse. After all, Sammy was a big guy and tumbling down a rocky hill with him can't be fun.

As he worked the cream into his friend’s bruises, he noticed Cas's breathing was growing harsh. He was worried that maybe he hadn't been gentle enough and the other man was in pain.

"Cas, you okay," Dean asked, replacing the cap on the tub of cream.

"Yes," the angel answered, voice strained slightly.

"Roll over," the hunter ordered, ready to take his friend to task for not being honest with him. Cas complied with his demand and Dean noticed his friend's face was flushed deep red. He also noticed that the sheet that was draped across the other man's hips was very obviously tented. Oh. So, not in pain apparently.

"Thank you. I think I will go take a shower now," Cas told him, refusing to look him in the eye.

"There... there are a lot more enjoyable ways to take care of that," Dean croaked. He couldn't believe he had just said that!

Cas's azure eyes met his, wide with surprise. The angel swallowed.

"I know," Cas whispered.

"Have you ever?" Dean asked quietly, finally asking the question that had been on his mind for a while now.

"No." Dean was mentally battling with himself. A part of him wanted to offer the angel a lesson in masturbation while another part just wanted to jump on his friend and take care of it for him. Cas must have sensed his internal debate because the angel set up and offered him a small smile.

"I think a shower will suffice for now," Cas said as he stood up and fled into the bathroom.

Damn it. He was pretty sure he'd given the angel the wrong impression. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe he needed to keep his hands to himself. Oh, who was he kidding? He was gone the minute the other man took off his clothes.

Standing up, Dean realized he was as hard as his friend had been. Taking a fortifying breath, he marched over to the bathroom and flung open the door.

Cas jumped in surprise and spun around from where he was leaning into the shower stall, turning on the water.

"Dean, what..." Cas started but Dean didn't let him finish. He walked over to the shorter man and gripped his good hip and his shoulder before gently guiding him back against the wall beside the stall. He pressed his lips against the angel's in a frantic kiss. Cas responded immediately, tongue thrusting into Dean's mouth first this time.

The hand that he had resting on Cas's hip slowly made its way to the hard line that was pressing into Dean's hip. He gripped the other man's cock and Cas whimpered into his mouth. He pulled back just enough to speak.

"It's okay. I got ya," he mumbled against Cas's lips. The angel's breathing was harsh and fast; he could feel the other man shaking in his arms.

He swiped his thumb across the head of Cas's cock to gather the fluid that had already leaked out. He used that to slick up his friend's erection enough to easily move his hand up and down. He set an easy rhythm; slow, smooth pumps with a gentle squeeze at the tip.

He gentled his kiss, caressing his friend's mouth rather than attacking. He had never in his life held, or jerked, another man's cock, but he figured he could just do what he liked and hope it was good enough.

Judging by the way the man was trembling and moaning into the kiss, he was doing okay. He sped up his strokes, gathering more precum on each swipe. Cas pulled back from his lips. The angel was panting now, his pupils wide and black, no blue visible. Dean felt his own dick throb against his zipper. Damn. If he wasn't careful, he was going to cum in his pants like a teenager.

"D-Dean... I... Um..."

"Just relax. Let it come," Dean murmured, speeding up his strokes once more now that he knew his friend was close. He didn’t expect the angel to last long, having never had an orgasm before. He stared into the other man's eyes and was surprised to find fear there. "Hey, it's okay, I promise. I've got you. Just let go," he coaxed.

Cas griped his hips hard and buried his face in Dean's neck. He cried out as his dick started to pump load after load into the space between their bodies. Dean felt his cock throb at the sight of his angel coming undone.

He stroked the other man through his orgasm until his whimpers turned slightly painful. He pulled back slightly to look at his friend. Cas raised his head from where it had rested against Dean's neck. His blue eyes strayed down Dean's body to where his cock strained against the jeans he wore.

"May I?" the angel asked.

Dean couldn't find his voice; he was too close to the edge, so the hunter nodded instead.

Cas reached out and cupped his erection through his pants and that was all it took.

"Fuck, Cas!" Dean hissed and then he was coming. He could feel the wet stickiness filling his boxers and he knew he should be embarrassed but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

Both men panted as they came down from their orgasms. Their breaths mixed with the sound of running water echoing through the quiet bathroom.

"I... I think I could use that shower now," Cas whispered. Dean chuckled.

"Care for some company?" he asked. Cas's reply was a large, easy smile. There would be time to freak out later, for now, Dean was far too strung out from his orgasm to care.

He followed his angel into the shower and shut off his brain as he helped the other man clean the areas on his back he was too sore to reach. They really needed to talk, but Dean wasn't ready for that. He'd gotten good during his lifetime at avoiding the issues, but Cas deserved better than avoidance. Cas deserved honesty.


	3. Chapter Three

Dean woke up once again next to a warm body, but this time he had an arm thrown across the waist of said warm body. Memories from the night before rushed back to him. He was so screwed.

He let his fingers brush across Cas's hip, light enough to not wake the sleeping man. What was he doing? How long had these... thoughts, these... feelings, been hiding out in his subconscious? Because, seriously, last night? That is not something you do on the spur of the moment. It has to come from somewhere.

Cas shifted in his sleep, a frown marring his otherwise relaxed features. He knew the angel would be sore when he woke up. He'd made sure to leave aspirin on the bedside table so Cas wouldn't have to get up to get some pain relief.

He was considering grabbing breakfast for his friend so the other man wouldn't have to walk all the way to the main house.

He was being ridiculous. Seriously, this wasn't him! He needed to think. He needed to clear his head. Last night he decided Cas deserved honesty, so Dean needed to figure out what the hell the truth was so he could share that with his angel.

Dean grabbed his cell and called his brother. Sam answered on the third ring.

"Dean? Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to take a look through the woods this morning while everyone's still asleep. Wanna join me? Cas was pretty banged up so I thought I'd let him sleep it off," Dean told his brother as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake the other man.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me throw some clothes on and I'll be right over."

"Alright. Just call me when you get here. I don't wanna wake Cas."

"Sure, no problem."

Dean quietly closed his phone and gently got out of the bed. He watched Cas roll over to the warm spot he'd left, but the angel didn't wake. He hurriedly threw on his clothes and jotted down a note explaining where he'd gone so Cas wouldn't worry. Just as he was signing his name, his cell started to buzz. He grabbed up his phone and set the folded note down on his pillow before rushing out the door.

"Hey, Sammy," he greeted his brother.

"Hey. Cas okay? He took a few hits," Sam asked.

Dean took in his brother's appearance. Sam didn't look much better than Cas had. He had a bruise at his hairline on his left temple and his lip was swollen where it had obviously been split.

"Yeah. He's pretty bruised up but I think he'll be fine. So... I hear you're making a move on my man," Dean told his brother with a smirk.

"Please, not you, too. I swear, that Hannah woman is seriously messed up in the head. I mean, really? Think about it, what the hell would we have been doing that would leave us looking like that?" Sam asked incredulously.

Dean leered at his brother and gave him a wink.

"Well, Sammy, it's always the quiet ones, or so I've been told. There's some pretty kinky shit out there."

Sam made a bitch face at his brother. Dean burst out laughing. He sobered quickly and steeled himself for the conversation he really wanted to have.

"Do I strike you as gay?" he blurted out. "And I swear, if you tease me about this, I will never, never talk to you about anything ever again," he warned his brother.

Sam glanced at him. Dean could see shock in his brother's hazel eyes. Yeah, if that question shocked the man, just wait.

"Um... I really don't know how to answer that."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Either I seem gay or I don't," Dean bit out.

"It's not that easy, Dean. I thought the last couple days would have taught you that."

Dean sighed. His brother had a point. Before this whole mess, he would have looked at someone like Jack and sworn he was straight. His perceptions were skewered now.

"It's just... thoughts like that, stuff like that, it doesn't just pop up, right? It has to come from somewhere, right?" he asked, voicing his concerns from earlier and praying that his brother wouldn't take the piss out of him for this. Sam must have seen something in his face because he didn't laugh or tease. He just took a deep breath before turning to face his brother, stopping them in the middle of the path they had been walking down.

"Dean... I'm going to assume you're talking about some attraction that has just 'popped up' regarding your angel."

Dean glanced around the quiet forest, afraid to meet his brother's eyes. Sam sighed.

"Have you stopped to consider that maybe it's more than a physical attraction to men that just appeared out of nowhere?"

"Sam, I can assure you I have never popped a boner from looking at another man..." Dean started, but Sam interrupted him.

"That's my point. Maybe, for once, the emotional side of your... relationship, don't give me that look, just let me finish, developed first. The feelings for Cas grew first. As the feelings grew, the attraction came. Maybe it just took this place to bring it all to light."

Dean stared at his brother. He was at a loss for words.

"Wanna run that by me in English?" Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's question.

"You care about Cas, probably even love him. You love who he is, but, because who he is happens to be a man, the attraction wasn't there at first. It's slowly grown. Now that you are noticing it, you're freaking out."

"Oh."

Dean thought about that for a minute. Did he care about Cas? Of course he did. The guy gave up everything for him, stood by him when he'd lost everyone else, when he'd lost Sammy. The guy gave up freaking Heaven for him. Holy shit, he might actually be in love with the angel.

"Dean, you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Listen, thanks, Sam. I'm gonna head back to the cabin, get ready for breakfast," Dean told his brother distractedly as he turned around to head back the way they'd come. Sam just gave him a knowing smile and a wave, not even mentioning the fact that they'd accomplished nothing with their case.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean paused outside of the door to his cabin. He'd run over what he wanted to say in his head a million times on the way over and he was pretty sure he had the right words for this. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and walked into the cabin.

Cas was awake and dressed, sitting at what passed for a kitchen table drinking a can of Mt. Dew and reading a book he'd borrowed from Alec. He glanced up at when Dean walked in.

"Good morning. This drink?" he said, holding up the green can. "This has to be one of humanity's greatest inventions," he told the hunter with a small, wondrous smile.

Dean barked out a laugh.

"Uh, yeah. That stuff's pretty good, but be careful, it's loaded with caffeine and I bet your body isn't used to that. So, how are you feeling?" he asked, worried that his friend might still be hurting.

"Not bad. A little sore. I think the cream and the shower helped. Thank you," Cas told him, looking back down at the book.

"So, how'd it go? Did you discover anything new?" Cas asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, no, but we'll go look more later. Maybe this afternoon if we have some spare time. Look, Cas, can we talk for a minute?" Dean asked, taking a seat at the table next to his friend.

Cas looked up at him with a guarded expression. Dean fidgeted, trying to remember what he wanted to say first. I think I love you seemed too much to start with. Cas's sigh pulled him from his musings.

"Dean, let's not do this." That caught Dean off guard.

"What?" he asked.

"I know what you are going to say. I'm going to stop you now and save us both a very awkward and embarrassing conversation."

Wait... what?

"I know you, Dean. This is the part where you fumble around with an apology that is meant to not hurt my feelings but make it very clear that last night meant nothing."

Well, apparently the angel didn't know him as well as he thought he did.

"So, I'm going to save you from that highly uncomfortable and disturbing scene. I assure you, Dean, there are no feelings to hurt. I'll even go a step farther and thank you for a very... enlightening and educational evening. It was definitely a more... enjoyable aspect of human relation and I am glad I was able to experience it."

Dean just gaped at the other man. Okay. He had totally read that wrong. He swallowed down the flash of hurt that crept up when he caught on to what his friend was saying. It was a very diplomatic way of saying thanks for the fuck but it didn't mean anything.

Dean tried to think of something to say. Was this how his various one night stands felt? Because this? This sucked.

"We should probably head out. I would like to enjoy breakfast before we have to face Hannah again," Cas told him.

All Dean could do was nod. He was feeling... Well, he didn't know what he was feeling. Confusion probably summed it up the best. And hurt. Let's not forget hurt. Fuck.

Dean was silent the entire walk to the main house. Cas kept shooting him worried looks but he really didn't know what to say to the other man.

When the pair entered the dining area, the light atmosphere vanished into a tense silence. Everyone was staring at them. It didn't take long for the group to resume its light talking, but Dean could tell they were all shooting glances at him and his angel. Cas leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"What are they staring at?"

"I have no idea," Dean admitted. He opened his mouth to continue but was interrupted by Jack, who had walked up behind him.

"Hey. Why don't you guys grab your food and we'll go eat at the tables outside?" he asked. Dean noticed Alec standing behind the dark haired man, a worried look on his face.

"Uh, sure. Sound good to you, Cas?"

His friend nodded before making his way over to the buffet and filling a plate. Dean followed the angel's lead. When they both had a plate filled with food, Dean lead the way out to the picnic tables that littered the back yard of the large house.

"So, what the hell is going on in there?" Dean asked once they were settled at their table. Jack and Alec shared a look.

"Well, Mike told everyone this morning that you caught Cas fucking around with one of the staff and... well, beat the shit out of both of them in a jealous rage," Jack told him in an unsure voice. Dean just stared at the other man. What the hell? He glanced over at Cas and found the angel as shocked as he was.

"We don't really believe him, he's had a thing for that Wesson guy since we got here. He's probably just jealous because the guy won't give him the time of day," Alec quickly explained.

Mike had a thing for Sammy? If he weren't so pissed right now, he'd be laughing his ass off.

"Dean didn't lay a hand on me," Cas practically growled, "And I am not fucking anyone else."

Dean was surprised at the vehement tone the other man used. Cas was defending him? He wasn't sure why that should surprise him. Last night didn't change anything between them. Why was he acting like it had? Fuck, he was confused again.

"We didn't say he did. We just wanted you to know what was being said. You do look like someone beat the shit out of you, though," Jack pointed out.

"I... Sam and I..." Cas glanced at Dean for help.

"We know Sam. That's how we heard about this place. He and Cas were just chatting when they thought they saw a bear. After the killings and stuff, they decided it best to hightail it outta there. They got tripped up and fell down a steep hill. They're both banged up pretty good. Apparently, Hannah, Mike and Tom found them and it looked... a little off," Dean explained, making it up as he went along.

"Ah. Makes sense. Mike's an ass. It'll pass," Jack assured them.

Dean went back to his breakfast. Great, now everyone thought he was an abusive asshole who couldn't even keep his partner satisfied enough to stay. As if his day wasn't already off to a great start.

When they finished breakfast, Cas suggested they head back to their cabin until their group session. Dean thought that was a good idea. The last thing he wanted right now was to deal with the idiots that were his fellow campers.

The walk back was tense and uncomfortable. It reminded Dean of yesterday's trek after their disastrous meeting with Hannah.

"Dean? Are you upset with me?" Cas asked, breaking the oppressive silence.

"No. Why would you think that?" Dean asked. Cas gave him a worried look.

"I... I was afraid maybe you were upset about last night. You've been quiet since this morning."

"I'm just a little pissed that I've been labeled a jealous, abusive asshole," Dean snapped, not wanting to talk about last night again. Obviously the angel didn't feel the same way.

"Dean, please be honest with me. I value your friendship too much to want it ruined by what happened."

Cas wanted honest? Yeah, no thanks.

"Cas, really, it's not ruined, I promise," he offered, glancing over at his friend. Cas had a sad look on his face. As soon as Dean met his eyes, the angel pulled his gaze away.

"I just... I promise, I'm not reading anything into what happened," Cas told him quietly. Dean was embarrassed by how bad he wished Cas would read into it... and feel the same way.

"I know, man. It's fine, really. It's just this place. It's fucking with us all," he told the other man as they neared their cabin.

"Yes, it is," Cas whispered sadly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean and Cas walked into their morning group session determined to ignore the looks and whispers. Dean noticed how the angel tensed when all eyes turned their way. He shifted closer to his friend and laid a supportive hand on the shorter man's lower back. Cas leaned into the support.

Dean sent a glare out to the assembled group. Seriously, what was this, high school?

Hannah walked in and offered Dean the sappiest, most pitiful smile he'd ever seen, then turned her gaze on Cas. Dean frowned when her eyes turned hard. Who the hell did she think she was?

Dean led Cas over to two empty seats Alec and Jack seemed to be saving for them. Acting on impulse and wanting to give those gossips something to think about, he leaned over and pressed an innocent peck on his angel's lips before taking his seat.

Cas glanced down at him, shock and confusion evident on his face, before taking the seat next to the hunter. Dean reached over and squeezed his friend's thigh then left his hand there. Maybe it was a little pathetic, but he felt better just touching Cas, he felt... grounded; and at least in public like this, he could pass it off as putting on an act. Cas slowly moved his own hand over the taller man's. When Dean felt the angel's grip, he turned his hand and intertwined their fingers. Apparently his angel could play a part as well.

Then it dawned on him; Dean was holding hands with another man. If Sam ever found out about this he'd never hear the end of it. He forcefully shoved all those thoughts to the back of his mind so he could just... enjoy the moment before the psycho opened her mouth and ruined it.

Hannah glanced around the room before greeting them. Her sickly sweet smile was out in full force.

"Good morning! I hope you all are still enjoying your stay. Today's topic is going to be a little... deeper, possibly even hard for some of you to discuss. No one will think less of you if you feel the need to leave the room," she told the group. Well, if that wasn't ominous.

"So many relationships fail due to fear; fear of commitment, fear of rejection," Dean felt Cas's grip tighten on his hand, "fear of loss. One partner, unable to be honest with the other, unable to deal with some irrational fear, will pull back and end a relationship that could have been saved if only the partner had been honest and open. That being said, we will be discussing our fears this morning. Hopefully, some of you will realize that you are not alone in your worries, that others have the same concerns."

"Now, we will start with Mike and Tom and work our way around. Mike, I want you to share a fear you have with the group."

Mike gave a dramatic sigh before addressing the assembled couples.

"I guess my biggest fear is boredom. I'm worried that one day I'll just wake up and... be living this ordinary, boring life. That thought scares the shit out of me."

"Very honest. Thank you, Mike. Tom? What about your fears?" Tom fidgeted for a second before starting his spiel.

"I'm afraid that the day will come when I'm not enough for Mike any more... I worry about the day when he's finally had enough and leaves," Tom told the group quietly. Dean watched Mike give his partner a surprised look.

"Thank you, Tom. We can discuss these fears later in depth," Hannah offered. "Lauren, why don't you go next?"

Lauren shifted in her seat. Dean thought she looked uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid... do I really have to do this?"

"No one is forcing you, Lauren. I think being honest with Allie about your fears is important, but I'm certainly not going to force you to say anything here in front of everyone," Hannah told the irate woman.

"I'm afraid I'm never going to be enough for Allie," Lauren blurted out and, seriously? If Dean had just been given an out like that, he'd take it! In fact, he was seriously thinking about using that out himself. Because there was no way he was answering this honestly. It would go over so well for him to say something like well, see, I'm afraid of Cas finding out I might actually love the winged wonder over there who definitely doesn't return my feelings. Yeah, not happening. Dean realized he'd missed Hannah's response and Allies fear when he heard Jack's voice rolling over the subdued group.

Dean listened to Jack tell the group about his fear of losing Alec, and, yeah, Dean could really understand that. Alec went on to explain about his fear that Jack was going to wake up one day and realize that being with him was not what he wanted, that he knew how much Jack wanted a family and how that was something he obviously couldn't give him.

While Alec's voice rolled over them, Dean felt Cas tensing up beside him. He glanced over at his friend and was shocked at the naked hurt he found in Cas's eyes. He offered the angel a comforting squeeze and was a little hurt when the angel pulled his hand away. What the hell?

"Cas? Perhaps you'd like to go next?" Hannah asked. His angel cleared his throat.

"I... I'm afraid of being powerless," Cas told her.

"I'm sure you are," she replied, shooting Dean a glare, and how was that fair? He thought he was supposed to be the victim here. Wasn't Cas the cheating bastard? Cas scoffed, drawing Dean's attention back to him.

"And I fear well-meaning idiots sticking their noses in where they don't belong," he added with a hostile glare. Dean fought his smirk. When did Cas grow a pair?

Hannah looked taken back by Cas's words. The whole room felt tense.

"Dean? What about you?" Dean looked Hannah right in the eye before answering.

"I'm deathly afraid of chick-flicks," he deadpanned. Cas snorted next to him as the room burst into laughter. Immediately, the place felt lighter. Cas reached over and took his hand again, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

"Very amusing," Hannah muttered before turning her attention to the last couple. Fine, if she didn't want to know what he was afraid of, so be it. Easier on him, that way.

Sarah gave some sanctimonious answer about fearing wrong choices or some shit and Anne responded with a fear of bigots. Dean didn't hold out much hope for that relationship.

"Well, thank you all for being honest this morning. Overcoming these fears is an integral part of making your relationship work. We can discuss these fears more in depth at our private sessions. I will see all of you later," Hannah told them with another of her sickly fake smiles.

Jack leaned over when Hannah left the room.

"Nice one, Dean," he told him with a genuine smile.

"She was getting on my nerves," he replied.

"You and me both. You guys wanna go for a walk before lunch?"

"I think fresh air would be nice," Cas answered for them, relief evident in his voice.

The four friends made their way out of the large house and into the vibrant sunlight. Dean took a deep breath and let some of the stress and worry he was feeling melt away.

They walked around the lush grounds, staying far from the woods because Dean really didn't want to deal with wannabe hellhounds right now, and talked about aimless things. Cas and Alec got into a friendly argument about Dante's accuracy and Jack and Dean rolled their eyes and shared commiserating smiles. There was a peace about the morning that Dean couldn't remember feeling in a long time. He could almost forget for a few minutes that he was in the middle of a case and that all of this was one big scam.

As they were rounding the last bend that would bring them right back up to the main house, Jack fell back slightly, allowing Cas and Alec, who were now discussing Galileo's writings, to walk on ahead. The dark hailed man motioned with his head for Dean to walk beside him. The hunter mentally shrugged and fell into step with the other man.

"You guys okay?" he asked. Dean thought about that question.

"Yeah. We're good," he answered, wishing he really meant those words. Maybe he and Cas were a little off right now, but they could fix that, right?

"Good. I was hoping you weren't gonna let Hannah get away with that shit." Dean smirked.

"I'm half tempted to just skip the next session. Does she seriously have a degree in this crap?" Dean asked.

"Well, I heard she wasn't actually licensed any more. Apparently, she and her hubby hit a rough spot a few years ago. A bunch of miscarriages that led to an affair that led to divorce. She supposedly went off the deep end, ended up depressed and addicted to pain pills. She lost her license to practice so she turned her money and time into this place. I guess she wanted to help other couples from going down a similar path. If you ask me, she's still riding the crazy train," Jack told him.

Dean was still processing all of what Jack had just said when they reached the main house. It was nearly lunchtime so they decided to go ahead and head for the dining area.

Dean really wanted to talk to Sam about what Jack had just told him. If Hannah was as unhinged as the rumors made her out to be, then maybe they had their first suspect. He made a mental note to call Sam as soon as he had a minute alone.

He and Cas chose once again to sit with Jack and Alec and by now Dean figured it was a habit, because, really? Were there any other people here he'd want to spend a considerable amount of time with?

Lunch was an assortment of pastas and other Italian dishes. When Cas came back to the table with a plate full of spaghetti, Dean couldn't help but make a Lady and the Tramp joke. Which of course led to Jack telling them exactly which man would star as the lady and which man fit the profile of the tramp. The situation further escalated when Alec burst out into a horrid rendition of "Bella Notte". Cas's confused face only made Dean laugh harder.

"Seriously, you never watched that movie as a kid?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Hey, back off, he, uh, had pretty strict parents. He didn't really get to watch TV or go to the movies," Dean told them when he recognized Cas's embarrassed expression.

"Hey, that's cool, man. I didn't mean to offend. It's not a big deal," Jack was quick to assure the pair. Dean offered him a smile in thanks.

"So, Alec and I were talking this morning about skipping the big group dinner. There are grills on the back decks of the cabins and we ran out and bought a few things last night that we could cook on them. We also picked up some more beer. You guys wanna ditch the uncomfortable staring and join us?" Jack asked, changing the subject.

Dean glanced at Cas to see what the other man thought. Sure, they could probably do more research, but really, they were kinda limited in that capacity while stuck here playing their parts. A little fun wouldn't kill them, right? The angel just shrugged so Dean took that to mean he didn't mind the break.

"Sure. That sounds awesome. What time?" Dean answered.

"How about seven?" Alec suggested.

"Sure! We'll be there," Dean told him before turning back to the pizza on his plate. Granted, it was probably the fanciest pizza he'd ever had, but it tasted good, so he wasn't going to complain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After lunch, Dean and Cas said goodbye to the other couple so Jack and Alec could head off for their own one on one session. Cas glanced over at his companion. This morning had been very... stressful and confusing. Dean was not acting like he expected and it threw Castiel a bit. He was almost afraid he had offended his friend this morning, but he'd only been trying to help. He knew Dean held no affinity for speaking about emotions and feelings and he had been trying to save his friend from having to go through with that. Perhaps he'd miscalculated.

He had greatly enjoyed their encounter the night before, but it had brought up feelings and thoughts he wasn't accustomed to and didn't know how to deal with. He'd been sure of one thing, though. He'd been sure Dean didn't reciprocate those feelings. His friend might be curious, but that was as far as the hunter would go. The taller man had a great appreciation for the female form and Castiel was pretty sure he still harbored a secret desire for the "apple pie life" as Sam like to call it, or at least some close proximity of it, complete with wife and child. The angel really wasn't sure what he could offer Dean that the hunter would want, aside from sexual release while they were stuck in the middle of this case.

He needed a bit of space. Being so close to Dean all the time was... confusing. Everything about this place was confusing and he would very much like a few moments of peace to settle his frantic thought and emotions. Last night had given him a lot to think about. Making up his mind, he turned to his friend.

"I think I will go for a walk. I noticed on a few symbols around the grounds that I don't believe were here when we first arrived and I'd like to take a closer look," he told the hunter. Dean just shrugged.

"Okay. No problem. We don't really have anywhere we need to be. Lead the way." Castiel felt irritation well up inside of him.

"Actually, I thought I would go alone. Perhaps you should find Sam and tell him what we learned about Hannah this morning. I believe that is something to be looked into," he told the taller man, trying to keep his irritation out of his tone. Dean face was a mixture of confusion and something the angel couldn't identify.

"Um, okay, sure. I'll meet you back at the cabin later then?"

Castiel nodded before turning and walking away briskly. He decided to head for the tree line directly behind the main house first. He really had no desire to venture too deep into the woods alone without either Dean or Sam for protection. He hadn't been lying earlier when he said he feared being powerless. It was one of the worst fates he could imagine.

He entered the forest, staying as close to the edge as possible. He carefully looked at each symbol, trying to remember, without access to his grace, the intricate symbols engraved into the trees. His mind was occupied when a low moaning sound caught his attention.

He froze by the tree he was currently examining and listened carefully. He could barely make out a low grunting sound interspersed with gasps. It sounded like someone was in trouble, perhaps fighting or wrestling with something. He was reminded of his earlier encounter with the dog-like creatures.

Cas hurried through the wood line towards the sound, being as silent as possible and only hoping that whatever he found he would be able to handle in his weak human state.

He stumbled around another large fir and froze at the sight that met him.

Mike, the one resident that he could barely stand, was leaning back against a large pine tree, penis out and very erect. His hand was wrapped around his manhood and he moved it harshly up and down, breaths coming out in harsh pants as he stared intently at something that was out of Castiel's sight.

Cas started to move back, sure that this was something private he should not intrude upon when his foot hit a branch. The loud crack caused Mike to whip his head around. Wide, shocked eyes met Cas's. The angel was trying to come up with a suitable apology when the other man's face broke out into a dirty smile.

"Well, well, well… Cas, right? Hope you don't mind. Couldn't resist, I can see why you go for a little side action with him. Well, come on, grab a seat, enjoy the show," Mike told him, hand resuming it's movement over his penis.

Cas froze, not sure what he was supposed to do in this instance.

"What show?" he finally asked, curious as to what held the other man's rapt attention.

"I always had a fantasy about the plumber… this is pretty damn close," Mike told him, nodding to something that Cas still could not see.

Cas took a step closer and peered around the large tree that had been blocking his view. From his new vantage point, he could see the large house that held the group meeting room and the dining hall. There on the back porch, wielding a hammer and a few pieces of wood, was Sam.

"Does he know you are watching him?" Cas asked incredulously on behalf of his friend.

"Hell no. Awww... are you getting all jealous?" Mike asked with a sneer. Castiel chose to ignore that absurd question.

"Does your… partner, Tom, know you are watching him?" Cas couldn't help but ask.

"Does it matter? A little voyeurism never hurt anyone," he explained, voice starting to sound wrecked as his hand sped up. "Besides, you getting upset about this is like the pot calling the kettle black."

"You're disgusting," Castiel all but spit out, quickly losing his temper with the vulgar man.

Mike turned to look at him once more. He gave the angel a knowing smirk.

"Hmmm... You're a little firecracker. Oh, wait, I get it… you're getting all hot and bothered and now you're gonna run back to the big man to make it all better? You're so cute."

Cas frowned at that and turned, quickly making his way back the way he came. As he rounded a corner in the wood line, he heard Mike call out an expletive and a loud moan. A shiver ran down his back at that, and not in a good way.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean walked back to his cabin feeling slightly off kilter. He was pretty sure he's just been blown off. Maybe that was a little harsh. He and Cas hadn't really had any time to themselves since they'd gotten here, time apart might be good for them. That didn't stop Dean from wondering what the hell he was going to do 'til their one on one session.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Bobby. He thought he could at least touch base with the older hunter. His friend answered on the second ring, his gruff voice filling the tiny speaker.

"Hey, Bobby, how are ya?"

"I'm about like I always am. How about you? Sam said that place was starting to get to ya."

"That's putting it mildly," Dean muttered. Taking a deep breath, he went on to explain everything they'd figured out so far and some of their theories.

"So, Sam said they look like little hellhounds?"

"He and Cas explained them that way, I guess they'd know. I didn't see them."

"Damn. I have no idea, Dean. I've never heard of anything like that."

"But you can look into it?"

"Of course. I'll take a look at those weird symbols Sam sent over, too and let ya' know if I figure anything out."

"Thanks, Bobby."

Dean finished up his phone call just as he came to the door of his cabin. He flipped his phone closed and slipped his keycard in. He walked into the cabin and made a bee line for the bed. Flopping down on his back, he stared blankly at the ceiling. He couldn't help but wonder what Cas was up to out there in the woods all alone. Was he thinking about him? Jesus, when the hell had he turned into a girl? No, Castiel was not thinking about him. He'd made his feelings, or lack there of, abundantly clear.

Dean's mind wandered back to the night before. Of all the people who could do something like that and have it mean nothing, Castiel the freaking angel was the last person Dean would have expected. He closed his eyes and pictured the way Cas had looked pressed against the wall, eyes wide and aroused. He thought about the delicious sounds his angel made while he'd stroked his cock. Dean's own dick stirred and started to harden at the memories.

He let the mental pictures continue, remembering how Cas's breath had quickened, how the angel had been so unsure, but had put his trust in Dean. His dick was hard against his jeans. He pressed the heal of his palm down against his straining erection. Glancing at the clock, he debated if he had enough time for a quick one.

He figured Cas would be out for a bit, so he should be safe. Carefully unzipping his jeans, he eased his dick out of its confinement. The cool air hit the heated flesh, sending a pleasurable shiver through his body. There were so many things he could show his angel; so many experiences the other man had never had. It didn't necessarily have to mean anything, right? Hell, Cas had to be curious.

He imagined pulling Castiel down onto their bed, kissing him senseless because, seriously? Making out with Cas was pretty awesome. He thought about convincing his friend to try blowing him. He wondered if he could convince the angel to try that. Dean thought about the other man's perpetually dry lips moist and glistening around his swollen cock. He pictured the hesitant way his angel would move over the hot flesh.

Dean gripped his dick and gave a few tentative strokes. He tried to imagine what it would feel like, Cas's hot mouth on his cock, his inexperienced tongue learning its way around the head and down the shaft. He let out a low moan, watching the precum bead at the top. He thumbed his slit, gathering the pearly drops and smoothing them down his erection, giving himself a bit of lubrication. He sped up his strokes, tightening his fist as he went.

He wondered if Cas would be brave enough to let him shoot in his mouth. His dick throbbed at the thought. The other man might be adventurous like that.

Dean was close. He could feel his balls pulling up, his orgasm just out of reach when the door to his cabin swung open. He froze mid stroke and met shocked blue eyes. Cas stood in the door way, eyes wide as they strayed down to where he still gripped his hard, leaking cock.

"Close the damn door," Dean hissed, pulling a sheet over his exposed body.

Cas jumped when Dean spoke and quickly stepped inside, slamming the door shut and averting his gaze. Dean lay there in shock, hand still gripping his dick. He watched the angel hesitantly glance back at him.

"Sorry, I didn't..." Cas trailed off, licking his lips and glancing down to the place where the sheet hid Dean's still aching cock. Dean was torn between throwing off the sheet and giving the other man a free show or stuffing his dick back into his pants and making a run for it.

Cas made the choice for him. The angel started hesitantly walking towards him. Dean wracked his brain for something to say, but he was coming up with jack shit. The angel paused at the side of the bed. He reached over and tentatively moved the sheet out of the way. His blue eyes were still wide and unsure, but quickly darkening in arousal.

"Cas?" Dean asked, voice cracking in an embarrassing way.

The other man sat down on the edge of the bed and reached over to brush light fingers down Dean's dick. The hunter sucked in a harsh breath. He let go of his cock, allowing it to bob against his stomach. Cas seemed to gain a bit of confidence. He circled Dean's erection with his hand and raised his eyes to meet the hunter's, a question obvious in the blue depths. Dean nodded. He didn't really care what the angel was asking permission for, so long as he kept touching him.

Cas slowly moved his hand over Dean's flesh a couple times, eyes wide and staring in fascination at the hardness in his fist. The grip was too light and the pace too slow. Dean placed his hand over Cas's.

"Little bit tighter," he instructed, squeezing both his friend's fist and his own dick. He was far too close to deal with light teasing strokes. "And a little faster."

Cas's breathing was turning harsh and Dean wondered if his friend was going to get off just by jacking him. An idea came to him suddenly. Here was the opportune chance to play out one of his earlier fantasies.

"Lay down," he ordered, grabbing Cas's hip with his free hand and tugging. The other man looked confused, but obeyed the command without question. Once the two men were laying on the bed face to face, Dean let go of Cas's hand and reached out. He quickly undid the button and zip on the angel's jeans, pulling his cock out.

"Dean?"

"Shhh."

There was no way Dean could do this and talk. He gripped Cas's dick and started to stroke it, encouraging his friend to move the hand still wrapped around his own cock. Castiel's strokes started again, a little hesitant but quickly gaining confidence. Dean leaned in and kissed Cas's lips, bringing their bodies close together. He used the leaking precum to smooth his strokes, hoping Cas would catch on. His angel seemed to be a quick study, if the thumb he swiped across the head of Dean's dick then slid down the shaft was any indication. He was learning fast.

Cas squeezed the head gently on the upstroke and Dean nearly lost it. He moaned into his friend's mouth, determined not to embarrass himself yet again in front of the angel He wasn't a freaking teenager, he should be able to last longer than this! He pulled out of the kiss and just watched the other man. He loved the look of abandon and wonder on Cas's face.

"Cas," he started, but stopped when he realized he had no idea what he wanted to say. Anything that came to mind was way too cheesy and probably not something his friend wanted to hear.

"I know, Dean, it doesn't mean anything, stop stressing," Cas growled, sounding annoyed. That was actually so far from what Dean was thinking that it pissed him off. He felt his annoyance grow. Maybe his friend needed to stop assuming he knew what Dean was thinking. He'd obviously lost that ability along with his grace.

Dean jerked Cas's hand away from his cock, ignoring the confused look on the shorter man's face. He rolled over so he was laying on top of the other man. He sat up so he was straddling the angel. Dean roughly pulled Cas's shirt up and off his body, tossing it somewhere on the floor before ridding himself of his own shirt. He took in the sight before him. Castiel lay under him, panting, lips swollen and wet. His body was naked from the waist up and his dick was hard and curled towards his stomach. Dean's own cock jumped at the sight.

Cas raised his hand and grabbed Dean's dick once more, stroking it hard and fast. That was all Dean needed to spur him into action. He grabbed Cas's cock and jerked him hard, smirking when he heard an unfamiliar expletive fall from the angel's lips. Dean leaned down and sucked at a sensitive spot on the other man's neck. He was going to leave his mark on his angel and fuck anyone who would give him shit for it. The angel was all but writhing underneath him.

He was close again and he could tell his angel wouldn't last much longer. He sunk his teeth into the side of Cas's neck, careful not to break the skin. The other man cried out in surprise and Dean felt warmth shooting between them. Cas's hand moved disjointedly against Dean's dick, but it was enough to push the hunter over the edge, his cum mixing with Cas's in the space between them. He panted through his orgasm, his breathing keeping pace with the angel's. As he slowly came down from his orgasm induced high, he realized he was going to need a shower before their one on one session.

Dean sat up slowly, wondering what the hell he should say now. He caught sight of the bruised mark already forming on the right side of Cas's neck and grimaced. Maybe he'd been a little too rough. Cas glanced down at his stomach then met Dean's gaze.

"Being human is very... messy," he commented. Dean snorted and gave the angel a tentative smile, grateful to his friend for breaking the awkward post orgasm silence.

"That's what showers are for," he told his friend, moving off the other man to sit on the bed beside him. He opened his mouth to suggest they jump in when Back in Black started blaring from his phone on the bedside table. It was Sam's ringtone.

"I should answer that. You go ahead and take a shower while I see what he needs," Dean offered. Cas nodded before standing up and disappearing into the bathroom.

Dean picked up his phone and answered, hoping his voice sounded normal. Or as normal as it could sound considering he was laying on his bed, half naked, cock out and covered in drying semen.

"Hey, Sammy. What's up?"

"Not much. Hannah's got me repairing stupid little things all over the resort. You'd think I was the only staff member around."

"She's trying to keep you busy so you'll keep your sasquatch hands off the poor confused campers," Dean teased.

"Ha ha, very funny. Seriously, Dean, you're killing me here."

"Bitch."

"Jerk. But seriously, did you want to meet up again before dinner to go look through the woods?"

"Actually, I have a possible lead. Did you know Hannah was once a somewhat respectable therapist?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, she was licensed in this shit before she and her husband started having trouble. Baby trouble. It ended pretty messy and she lost her license. She started this place up after that, but I'm not convinced she's completely sane."

"So, you think she could have something to do with the killings?"

"She totally fits the type."

"You're not just saying this because she upset your boyfriend?"

"Shut up, bitch. He's not my boyfriend. But think about it, it's happened three months in a row, so my first theory would be staff. We think we could be dealing with some kind of fertility deity and she had baby trouble that caused her to lose everything."

"No, that really does actually make sense. Want me to look around here? See if I can find anything?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, Sammy. Can you meet us back here around four?"

"Sure. I'll let you know what I find."

"Awesome. Later." Dean closed his phone just as the sound of water tapered off in the bathroom. He quickly grabbed his cast off shirt and wiped himself down the best he could. He shoved his limp dick into his pants and fastened them up. He was mostly presentable by the time Cas came out of the bathroom.

The other man had on a pair of jeans, but nothing else. His pale chest was naked and still damp from the shower. Droplets glistened on the smooth skin. Dean felt his cock give a feeble twitch at the sight.

"Shower's empty," Cas spoke up, breaking through the moment. Dean swallowed hard.

"Thanks. I'll be quick, then we can head to our next session." Cas's demeanor darkened at Dean's words.

"Do we have to?"

"We should probably try to stay on her good side so we can keep her out of our hair while we finish up this case."

Cas nodded, a resigned look on his face. Dean clapped him on the shoulder as he moved past him and into the bathroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cas pulled out a shirt from the drawer and pulled it over his head. His body was humming in the most pleasant way, but his mind was in turmoil. He had not expected another encounter with Dean. Not that he was complaining, it was very pleasurable, and he enjoyed seeing Dean so free and open, his shields down for a few minutes. It wasn't a side of his friend he saw often enough.

He wished he could bring out that side of the hunter more often, he wished he had more to offer the other man... he wished a lot of things. Things he really shouldn't wish for.

Cas sighed as he listened to the sounds of Dean showering. It had really bothered him when Dean had tried to speak to him in the midst of their encounter. He'd been able to just enjoy the other man, to pretend for just a moment that they were just two lovers indulging in a little alone time, until the hunter had opened his mouth. Cas understood perfectly where they stood, he did not need reminding.

Cas paced over to the refrigerator and pulled out a cold can of soda. The green drink had quickly become one of his favorite things.

He was just finishing his soda when Dean emerged from the bathroom, clad in only a towel.

"Forgot my clothes," he mumbled by way of explanation. Cas nodded and let his eyes rove over the hunter's toned body. The angel walked over to his friend, stopping at what he hoped was an appropriate distance. Dean eyed him warily. Cas wondered what the other man expected him to do.

"We should hurry. Hannah is not a very patient person," Castiel told the other man. Dean nodded before stepping closer to the angel. Cas wondered what he was planning. The hunter leaned over and Cas's breath caught in his throat, but Dean just reached past him and grabbed his clothes that were sitting on the dresser behind him.

"Yeah, the last thing we need is another lecture," Dean told him. Cas noticed the hunter hadn't stepped away.

"Dean?" Cas spoke up, not sure what he wanted to ask.

"Yeah?" the other man answered, voice low and wrecked sounding.

Cas just followed his instincts and leaned in, pressing his lips hesitantly against the taller man's. He half expected to be roughly shoved away. Dean didn't push though. Instead, he pulled him closer, deepening the kiss for a minute before finally stepping back. Cas didn't recognize the look on his friends face, but it was far from pleasant.

"What was that for?" Dean asked, no anger evident in his tone, just an odd sadness.

"I... I don't... I just thought..." Cas trailed off, unsure of the words to describe why he had kissed the other man. It was obviously a mistake.

"Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't think so much," Dean muttered, turning away and pulling his clothes on. Cas was embarrassed. He nodded to Dean's back. The hunter was right. He had no idea how to play this game of his. He'd let the other man lead from now on.

"Sorry," Cas whispered, unsure if the other man would hear him or not.

Once Dean was dressed, they left for their session with Hannah. Cas was confused and unsure and really did not want to deal with the annoying woman. At the other sessions, he'd had Dean's support, but he was afraid he'd messed up earlier and wondered if he'd be able to count on his friend this time. They paused outside the main house and he was surprised to feel the hunter place a hand on the small of his back.

"Don't let her get away with any of her shit, 'kay?" Dean said, stepping closer to him. That small gesture made Cas feel much better. He nodded at his friend. Together, they stepped into the house.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean sat up straight in his chair, arm slung across the back of Cas's chair glaring at the blond woman in front of them. He was daring Hannah with his eyes to say something.

"Well, there are a lot of things we could discuss today, but I think there is one issue that we should address before we talk about anything else," Hannah finally spoke up.

"Actually, I don't really think that's necessary," Cas told her, voice cool and collected. Dean smirked. Let it never be said that his angel lacked a backbone.

"I'm going to have to disagree with you on that, Cas," Hannah told the other man.

Dean watched Cas narrow his eyes at the blond woman.

"What could you possibly have to say that would help?" Cas asked. Dean snorted at the shocked look on Hannah's face.

"Perhaps we could start with trust, then, shall we?" she asked after a tense silence. "Trust in a relationship is very, very important." She turned to face Dean. "Let me ask you a question, do you find it easy to trust people?" Dean raised an eyebrow at her question. That was an easy one to answer.

"No."

"And why is that, do you think?" Dean paused for a second.

"Because people are always out for themselves. No one thinks about the good of the many anymore, it's all about 'how can I help me?'," he told the therapist.

"That's a pretty jaded outlook on life. So, tell me this then: do you trust Cas?"

"With my life," he answered without hesitation.

Hannah turned her gaze to Cas.

"He has a lot of faith in you, and I know you care very deeply for Dean. I don't know why you don't wish to talk about what happened the other day, but betraying such deep trust will only hurt you both in the end," she told Cas.

Dean felt the angel tense beside him.

"I do not know why you insist on pushing this. If you really believe I care so deeply for Dean, why would you think I would not have been one hundred percent honest with him? Why do you believe we need to talk about something very private and personal? Do you believe we haven't spoken about the incident? I understand the point of these sessions but in this case, I really believe it best if you butt out," Cas told her, voice gaining strength with each word.

Dean brought his hand to the other man's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"I see," was all the blond woman said before turning back to Dean. "I'm glad you could be so understanding about this, but, please, remember that needing to talk about the situation is not a weakness."

"Right," Dean replied, refusing to say anymore.

"If you desire to speak to someone about fidelity, perhaps you should have this discussion with Mike and Tom," Cas spoke up, a smirk on his face that Dean wasn't used to seeing. Dean raised an eyebrow at his friend, wondering where Cas was going with this.

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked.

"I mean, perhaps you should speak to Mike about his unhealthy obsession with pleasuring himself while spying on your staff," Cas explained.

Dean had to fight the urge to burst out laughing at that. There was a story there, he was sure of it.

Hannah looked shocked at Cas's comment. Dean was proud of his angel for finding a way to shut her up.

"Well, that is definitely something I will bring up with the pair, thank you," she told Cas, glancing down at her notes and shuffling them nervously. She seemed to be at a loss for what to bring up next. Some professional she was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean and Cas made their way back to their cabin in comfortable silence for a change. Hannah had been flustered for the rest of their session and for once they got off relatively painlessly. It was a nice change. Dean glanced over at his friend and noticed the pleased smile on the angel's face. It was nice to see.

"So, Mike and Tom?" he asked, wondering what the story was from earlier. Cas looked over at him and his face broke into an amused smirk.

"I stumbled upon Mike earlier when I was exploring the woods. He was masturbating while watching your brother repair a porch," Cas told him nonchalantly.

Dean stumbled at Cas explanation.

"Are you serious? Mike the Psycho Perv was beating it while watching Sammy?" he asked, trying to decide if he should laugh or gag.

"Beating...?" Cas asked, looking confused. "I don't..."

"Jacking off, jerking off, masturbating, beating his meat, whatever you want to call it," Dean explained.

"Ah, in that case, yes, he was. He seemed to think it was perfectly acceptable and far from a breach in trust in his relationship with Tom."

"Dude, that's just messed up," Dean muttered as they neared their cabin.

"I have to agree with you on that," Cas told him, offering a small, commiserating smile.

Dean returned the angel's smile as they climbed the steps up to their cabin door. The hunter pulled out his keycard and opened the door, letting the angel go in first. He noticed Cas rubbing absently at his neck and shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked his friend.

Cas turned around to face him, a confused look on his face.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You were rubbing your neck like it was bothering you," the hunter pointed out. Cas shrugged.

"I am a little sore still from my fall with Sam," the angel admitted.

"Well, here, sit down. I can rub it for you. If you get the kinks out early, it'll keep it from tightening up later."

Cas sat down on the bed where Dean was indicating.

"Thank you."

"No problem. We've got time to kill 'til Sammy gets here anyway."

Dean moved to kneel on the bed behind his friend. Cas let his head drop down towards his chest, offering his neck up to the taller man. The hunter reached out and gently started to knead the angel's shoulders. He was careful not to put too much pressure on the tender muscles at first. He would work his way up until he could loosen the knots he felt in his friend's shoulders.

Cas let out a low moan that caused Dean's dick to stir in his jeans. For fuck's sake! Being around his angel was like being back in high school. He was apt to pop a boner every time the wind blew!

"Feel good?" he asked, pleased with how normal his voice sounded.

"Yes. Very," Cas mumbled, rolling his head from side to side. Dean had a sudden urge to press his lips to the pale skin between Cas's curling dark hair and the collar of his t-shirt.

"I can get you some more aspirin if you need it before we head over to Alec and Jack's," Dean offered, ignoring his urges.

"That might be wise, thank you," Cas responded. A knock on their door stopped Dean from saying anything else. He patted his friend on the shoulder before getting up to let his brother in.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean greeted, stepping back to let the taller man into the cabin. His brother walked through the door and waved to Cas before returning his Dean's greeting.

"Hey. How was your share and care time?" the other hunter asked with a teasing smile.

"Shut up. It was great. We sat in a circle and sang Kumbuya," Dean replied. He heard Cas chuckle from behind him and he smiled, pleased to have made the angel laugh.

Sam laughed outright at his response.

"You know, knowing Hannah, I could actually believe that."

Dean led his brother over to their small kitchen table and sat down opposite the taller man. He watched Cas stand up from the bed and make his way into the kitchen area.

"Would you care for a soda, Sam? I'm afraid we don't have beer to offer you," Cas called out with his head buried in the refrigerator. Dean watched his brother raise an eyebrow at him. He had no idea what the teasing grin on his brother's face was for.

"Sure, soda would be great, Cas," Sam answered. The angel came over to the table with three cans of soda. He sat one before both brothers before opening the third for himself. Cas sat down in the seat to the right of Dean, facing Sam. The older hunter instinctively reached under the table and gave the angel a reassuring squeeze on the thigh. He watched Cas give him a curious look before turning back to Sam.

Sammy was wearing the largest shit-eating grin he'd ever seen.

"What?" he had to ask, voice a bit harsher than he meant for it to be.

"Nothing. So, Hannah?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. What did ya find out? Spill," Dean ordered. Sam looked at Cas, then back at him before launching into his short story.

"Well, where do I start?" he asked. "She definitely was, at some point, trying to get pregnant. The cabinet under the sink in her personal bathroom was packed full of ovulation tests, pregnancy tests, herbs known to increase fertility, pretty much a 'get me knocked up' stockpile.

"I also looked into her history. She and her husband split almost six years ago, so, it's not him who's apparently doing the knocking," Sam told them.

Dean glanced over at Cas and watched as the angel tilted his head in a very familiar way.

"That is all very incriminating," the angel said. "Do we know anything more about the goddess or the ritual required to summon her?"

"That's my next goal. Bobby's looking into it as well and he's gonna give me a call this evening so we can share notes," Sam explained.

"Awesome. Let's catch this bitch," Dean spoke up, taking a gulp of his soda.

"That's the game plan. We still have a few days until the full moon, but the quicker we can figure it out, the better I'll feel," Sam told them, finishing off his own soda. Cas stood up and wordlessly took the empty cans into the kitchen to dispose of them. Dean noticed Sam wearing his goofy smile again.

"What?" Dean finally had to ask.

"It's just... it's cute, that's all, seeing you two all domestic. You actually look pretty comfortable. It's nice," Sam told him. Dean felt his good mood evaporate. Sam was seriously confused apparently.

"Oh, don't even, Dean. I know where you're going. Stop. It's okay to actually enjoy yourself here for a few days. You've earned a days rest," Sam told him. Dean opened his mouth to answer but stopped when Cas returned to the table.

"Well, I am off to repair one of the bridges on the Pond of Tranquility, or whatever the hell Hannah calls it," Sam told them, standing up from the table. That comment triggered a memory from earlier.

"Oh, Sammy, by the way, you might want to keep an eye out for peeping toms... or, Mikes, I guess," Dean warned him with a smirk.

"Huh?" Sam asked, brows drawing together in confusion.

"Apparently you have an admirer," Cas spoke up, joining in on the teasing. Sam's gaze passed between the two men.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, apparently Mike, short spiky hair, really crass, unbelievably gay, has a little crush on the handy man. Likes to whip it out and rub one off while spying on the hired help," Dean explained, bursting into laughter at the shocked and disgusted look on his brother's face. He looked over and found his angel wearing an evil smile.

"I'm sure he and his partner wouldn't mind if you joined them sometime, Sam," Cas told his brother. Dean's laughter bubbled up again at his angel's joke.

"Dean! You're a horrible influence on him!" Sam sputtered, face full of shock.

"Hey, I happen to be pretty proud of how far he's come," he told his brother, offering Cas a pleased smile, which the angel returned.

"Okay, on that note, I'm going to leave you two lovebirds alone," Sam told them, quickly rushing out of the cabin and slamming the door behind him. Cas blushed at the younger hunter's parting words.

Dean clasped a hand to Cas's shoulder.

"Dude, that was awesome," he told the other man.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean relaxed into the lounge chair on the back deck of Alec and Jack's cabin. Mouth-watering smells were coming from the closed grill on the edge of the deck and he couldn't wait to try the burgers he saw Jack preparing earlier.

Jack plopped down in the lounge chair and offered him a cold bottle of beer.

"Thanks," Dean told the other man gratefully.

"Rough day?" Jack asked.

"Dealing with that Hannah woman always equals rough," Dean muttered.

"Yeah, I have to admit, she's not quite what I expected when Alec booked this trip, but at the same time, not everything she says is a load of bull," Jack pointed out.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Some stuff she's brought up has got me thinking. She got me and Alec to talk about some issues I didn't even know we had."

"Then I guess she's not all evil," Dean replied with a smirk.

"It looks like she's helped you guys some, too," Jack pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, starting to feel uncomfortable with the direction this discussion was going.

"When we first got here, you guys looked so uncomfortable together, I hardly believed you were a couple," he explained. Dean shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Gee, wonder why that was? Oh, yeah, because they weren't a couple. Dean paused at that thought. Hell, they aren't a couple still so what's the difference? Jack seemed to know what Dean was wondering.

"You guys seem comfortable around each other now. You seem... happy," he explained. That didn't make Dean feel much better. "I'm glad."

The hunter just offered his friend a smile before taking a gulp of his beer. He needed the alcohol desperately right now.

Cas and Alec came out of the cabin carrying bowls of salad and what smelled like mashed potatoes. They were laughing at something and it caused Dean's stomach to do an odd flop. It was nice to see his angel so happy and carefree, for once not having the weight of Heaven and Earth on his shoulders.

Cas turned around after he'd set his bowl down on the table they'd set outside and gave Dean a dazzling, happy smile. He couldn't help but return the gesture.

"All right, you two, no eye fucking," Jack told them, bursting out in laughter when Cas blushed a dark red. "You two are seriously too fun."

"Shut up," Dean told him, tossing a wadded up napkin at the other man's head.

"Oh, that's mature," Jack said with a laugh.

"What can I say, you bring out the worst in me," Dean quipped.

Jack let loose another laugh before pushing himself up and out of the chair.

"Burgers should be ready," he told the group.

"Awesome," Dean replied, standing up and walking over to stand beside Cas. The other man bumped shoulders with him. Dean leaned slightly into his friend.

"Help yourselves," Alec announced as he placed the plate of burgers on the table.

Dean laughed again at the way Cas was eyeing the plate full of greasy patties.

"Dude, stop staring and grab one," he told the other man, grabbing a paper plate and loading it up. Cas watched for a second before he began to fill his own plate.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean walked into the dark cabin, Cas a nearly dead weight against his side. He should have known better, should have kept a closer eye on his friend, should probably stopped him after the third, or maybe the fourth, beer.

But he didn't. And now, now his angel was shit-faced drunk. He wasn't sure how they'd made it back from Alec and Jack's without him having to carry the other man.

"Okay, Cas, gotta help me out here a little," he told his friend, sitting him down on the edge of the bed and encouraging him to sit up on his own so he could at least get his shoes and jeans off. He knew he'd be a lot more comfortable that way.

Cas managed to sit on the bed without toppling over as Dean untied the boots the angel was wearing and quickly slipped them off. When he moved up to undo the button and zip on his friend's jeans, Cas's hand came down to cover his. He glanced up and met dark, blown pupils, slightly unfocused from the copious amounts of beer the other man had consumed.

"Trust me, man, you wanna get these jeans off before you lay down," Dean offered, trying to move his hand beneath Cas's.

"I trust you with many things, Dean, but removing my clothing might be one area I should reconsider," Cas slurred. Dean paused at that.

"Dude, I'm not gonna molest you, I'm just trying to help you get comfortable."

"What if I want you to?" Cas asked, voice weak and unsure. Dean's gaze shot back up to meet Cas's.

"Yeah, well, ask me again when you're sober." Cas snorted at that. Dean stared at the slightly swaying figure before him and was disturbed when his mind went back to the Cas he'd met briefly from the future. The man who sat before him reminded him too much of the broken shell he'd found there.

"Having a drunk partner to warm your bed never bothered you before," Cas spoke up, something odd in his tone.

"Yeah, well, when it's a meaningless, nameless fuck, then their sobriety isn't that important, but... I'm not gonna do that with you," he told the angel.

"I don't understand your rules," Cas huffed at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You are confusing," was all Cas said.

"At the moment, I could say the same about you. But, seeing how you're pretty trashed, you have an excuse."

Dean finally managed to get Cas's pants unbuttoned and the zipper down. He helped the angel shimmy out of them but before he could suggest the other man get comfortable, Cas surged forward, slamming their lips together in a sloppy, desperate kiss. Dean gave in for a moment before reminding himself that he was not going to take advantage of his very drunk friend.

"Cas, no. Trust me on this," he pleaded.

Cas gave him a broken look.

"I cannot figure you out, Dean Winchester," Cas told him, flopping back to lie on the bed.

"Yeah, I've heard that before," Dean muttered, standing up to change his own clothing.

"I lied to you," Cas spoke up, causing Dean to whirl around and stare at the prone figure on the bed.

"Huh?" he asked, not sure what the angel was on about now.

"I lied," he said simply.

"Uh, yeah, we've established that. About what?"

"When I said I didn't have any feelings to hurt," he slurred, eyes fluttering.

Dean froze, confused and unsure about what the angel was trying to say.

"You are insufferable, annoying, confusing and at times a pain in my ass, yet... I find myself pulled to you each time," Cas muttered, eyes finally falling closed. Dean just stared at the snoring man. What the hell had Cas just admitted to?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry it's been awhile. New baby and all, really have struggled with time. That and I just wasn't happy with the beginning here. I changed it about half a million times before deciding on this. I struggled so much with keeping the characters IC yet allowing them to get all schmoopy and lovey. It was a challenge and I still worry if I pulled it off. Please, let me know! Thank you SO much to all the reviewers. You guys keep me sane when I'm up at three in the morning feeding. Here is the next part... we are onto the last 10k words... wow, is it really almost over? It's been a blast! So, sit back and enjoy!
> 
> Also, This fic is COMPLETE. I will post part five next, then, DONE... well, except for the epilogue, which will get there... eventually. lol. I am planning a sequel, have quite a bit written, but I won't start posting til I have more written.

A/N: Sorry it's been awhile. New baby and all, really have struggled with time. That and I just wasn't happy with the beginning here. I changed it about half a million times before deciding on this. I struggled so much with keeping the characters IC yet allowing them to get all schmoopy and lovey. It was a challenge and I still worry if I pulled it off. Please, let me know! Thank you SO much to all the reviewers. You guys keep me sane when I'm up at three in the morning feeding. Here is the next part... we are onto the last 10k words... wow, is it really almost over? It's been a blast! So, sit back and enjoy!

Part Four 

Dean didn't sleep that night. He couldn't. There were way too many thoughts bouncing around in his head to let him rest.

His eyes strayed to the slumbering angel next to him. Cas's words reverberated in his mind. Had he really said what Dean thought he said? That he had feelings for him? It's what it had sounded like. That complicated things to the nth degree, but… a small part of Dean didn't care.

He tried to think of what the hell they would do with these… feelings between them. Cas was an angel; he had responsibilities in Heaven. Granted, his friend had been spending a good portion of his time on earth helping out him and Sam, so it wasn't like Dean was worried that he wouldn't be able to see Cas all that much. On the other hand, well, Cas was a freaking angel! That was not a good premise for a relationship. Of course, neither was being a hunter, truth be told. One night stands, yeah sure, but relationships? Not so much.

Dean sighed and turned over, eyes straying to the knobs of Cas's spine. He could see the bruises from his tumble with Sam in the pale light of dawn. They were a stark reminder that Cas might be an angel, but at the moment, he was very, very human. Which also meant the other man would probably be suffering from one hell of a hangover when he woke up. That was one thing Dean could take care of.

The hunter quietly got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. He grabbed two aspirin and filled a plastic cup with water then went back out into the main room. He walked over to the bedside table closest to Cas and set the cup and the pills down so they would be easily accessible when his friend woke up. Then he crawled back into the bed, snuggling (though Dean would never admit that's what he was doing) up to Cas from behind, spooning easily into the shorter man's body.

His mind still refused to calm down so he let his eyes wander to the back door that led out to their small deck. He could just see the sun rising, the entire world bathed in oranges, pinks, golds, all the colors that indicated a new day was being born. He felt Cas shift in his light embrace, a soft moan leaving his friend's throat.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked quietly.

"No," Cas voice came out rough and gravely. It sent a shiver down Dean's body and caused Dean's dick to stir in his boxers. "I think I might be dying."

Dean snorted. He didn't mean to, he knew the poor guy wasn't used to dealing with hangovers, but really? A little too dramatic.

"Dude, you aren't dying. It's a hangover. You have had one of those before," he told Cas, keeping his voice low so as not to irritate the angel's poor head. He left his arm draped over Cas's waist, wondering if his friend had even noticed it yet. "Look, I got you some meds already. Trust me, take the two aspirin and drink the water, it'll help."

Cas reached over and gingerly took the two pills, pulling himself out of Dean's reach. He quickly downed the medicine and drank the water then set the empty cup back down on the bedside table.

"How long does it take them to work?" Cas asked miserably. "I feel like I am about to be sick."

"Half an hour or so," he replied. Cas moaned. "And if you're gonna puke, head to the bathroom, but it's probably just the feeling, all part of the joy of too much alcohol. Just relax, it'll go by quick, promise." The angel started to relax back into Dean but tensed at the last second. It seemed that Cas finally realized the position they were in. That or he remembered his words from last night. He started to pull away but Dean just tightened his hold.

"Dean…" Cas warned.

"Are you about to puke?" he asked.

"No," Cas answered, body still tense and straining towards the outside edge of the bed.

"Then your ass is staying right here."

"Dean," Cas started once more but Dean cut him off before he could start babbling excuses or worse, apologies.

"Cas? Shut up. We'll talk when your head has stopped pounding. And don't start thinking you know what's going on in my brain, because that's getting old."

The angel turned his head to face Dean, confusion evident in his eyes.

"Sleep now, talk later," Dean ordered before closing his eyes. He was tired and he finally felt like he might be able to slip into sleep if Cas would just cooperate with him.

"Alright," Cas finally whispered, settling his head back down onto the pillow. His body slowly relaxed into Dean's hold. The hunter closed his eyes and finally dozed off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Dean woke up, the sun had fully risen and was shining brightly through the French doors that led out the back of their cabin. Cas had turned over some time while they slept and now was facing Dean, head nestled under his chin, breath tickling his neck. He still had his arm around the angel and one leg had found its way in between Cas's. It should probably worry Dean how much he, well, wasn't freaking out about this.

Cas had made a confession last night, granted it was a very drunken confession, but it was the truth nonetheless and it gave Dean the clarity and courage to let his friend know exactly how he felt. He didn't know what the hell they were going to do with all these feelings, but it was about damn time they put them on the table. His brother would be shitting himself if he knew all the thoughts that were going through Dean's head. After this morning, Dean was swearing off chick flick moments again because he had seriously met his quota on mushiness with this.

Cas stirred against him. His top leg moved up Dean's thigh bringing their hips closer together. It did nothing to help his morning erection. He watched Cas's eyelids flutter open, glassy blue eyes met his in confusion before a deep blush colored the angel's face.

Cas started to pull back but Dean tightened his arm, holding his friend where he was.

"We need to talk."

Cas lowered his eyes, shame flashing across his features.

"I'm-"

"Cas, shut up. My turn," Dean interrupted. Cas just nodded, still refusing to meet Dean's eyes. "Listen, there's something I should probably tell you, something I tried to tell you the other day before you spouted off that nice little speech about meaningless sex."

Cas shifted. Dean could tell he was uncomfortable but too bad. He was going to get this out one way or another.

"You thought you knew what I was going to say, and granted, my… reputation when it comes to one night stands isn't that great, but… you should have given me a chance, Cas. You can't read my mind."

Cas's eyes shot up to meet his finally. They were confused but Dean could see a hint of anger in there as well.

"No, maybe I can't, but I know you, Dean."

"Yeah, you do, but apparently not as well as you thought. Hell, when it comes to this, I don't even know me. Because, seriously, Cas, this is so far out of the ballpark for me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the… fuck, the way I feel. About you."

Cas's eyes widened as he stared at Dean. The hunter waited for the other man to say something but Cas's mouth remained tightly shut.

"When you started talking about how you didn't have any feelings to hurt, how you completely understood that what we did meant nothing and that was totally fine, well, it sorta threw me for a loop. For the first time in a long time, it had actually meant something and when I got my head out of my ass long enough to admit it, here you were telling me 'Thanks for the fuck, see ya later.' I'm not used to that. Didn't realize how unpleasant it was to be on the other end of that."

"I… Dean, what are you… I thought…" Cas took a deep breath before trying again. "I thought I was making it easier on you," he admitted. "I was sure that you merely needed release and I was the closest willing person."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that after your little confession last night." Cas scowled.

"Alcohol is evil."

"No, it's not. It just makes one hell of a truth serum. Seriously, Cas, I… what you said, I feel the same way. Especially the whole, 'pain in my ass' part," he told his friend, hoping to break the tension a bit.

Cas searched his eyes but Dean had no idea what he was looking for.

"I'm not sure what to do with these feelings," Cas finally admitted.

"Me either. I mean neither of our lives are exactly cut out for this shit."

"I have a responsibility to Heaven," Cas whispered.

"I gotta be there for Sammy, out on the road, hunting, it's my life. I tried the apple pie thing, it wasn't me, and it didn't work."

Dean and Cas lay there for a minute in silence, eyes glued together.

"Then, perhaps we should enjoy the time we have here," Cas whispered, moving his body closer to Dean's. The hunter raised an eyebrow at that. The angel pressed his lips hesitantly to Dean's. Dean kissed him back enthusiastically, slowly exploring every inch of Cas's mouth as if it was the first time. In a way, it was. He was seeing his angel, his friend in a whole different light. He wasn't hiding any more and that gave everything a different feel. Cas pulled back first, breaking the kiss.

"We're going to miss our group session," Cas said, eyeing the clock behind Dean.

"Forget about it. I'd much rather be here with you. We'll make up something, or hell, tell her we spent the morning 'rekindling our romance' or some shit like that. Hannah'll eat it up."

"I like that idea. Dean… there's something I've been curious about, something I've wanted to try," Cas spoke hesitantly.

"What's that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life," Dean repeated his words from the day before with a smirk.

"And you'll keep in mind that I have no idea what I'm doing?"

"Honestly, Cas, when it comes to this," Dean waved his hands around the room, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing either. I haven't exactly done this shit with a guy before."

"Then, no judging, on either end."

"Sounds good. Now, what did you want to try?"

Instead of answering, Cas moved his hands down and tugged Dean's boxers down his hips, freeing his semi-hard cock. Dean kicked them the rest of the way off. The hunter smirked. He liked where this was going. Cas met his eyes once more and Dean could see the slightest hesitancy in them before the angel slithered down the bed, stopping when his face was even with Dean's hips. He sucked in a breath as Cas leaned closer to him, eyes trained on his cock where it lay against his stomach, filled with blood. He was pretty damn sure about what was going to happen and his brain was slowly shutting down.

Cas carefully gripped Dean's dick in one hand. The angel flicked his tongue out and ran it along the tip causing Dean to let loose a moan. The warm, wetness of Cas's tongue was fleeting, barely enough to call a tease. Cas leaned back in, this time taking the whole tip into his mouth and letting his tongue trace the sensitive area just under the head. Dean fought against the instinct to grab the dark head and shove him further down.

After an agonizing few seconds, Cas finally sunk down on Dean's dick. He slowly began to bob up and down, letting his tongue map out every inch of hardness. Every time he'd come up, his tongue would flick over the tip, stabbing at the slit in a way that was driving Dean nuts.

It was a sloppy blow job, there wasn't much of a rhythm, Cas didn't use his hand enough, but at the same time, the pure innocence and wonder Cas showed was hot enough to have Dean on the edge in an embarrassingly short time. Dean reached down and cupped his hand around the one Cas had on his cock and showed the angel how to pump with the movement of his mouth. Once the other man caught on, the pleasure surged. Dean felt his balls draw up tight and knew he was about to blow.

"Cas… uh, you might want to move. I'm about to…" Cas seemed to understand what Dean was having trouble getting out. He pulled off with a pop but continued to move his hand over the rigid flesh. A handful of strokes later and Dean was pumping out his release. He closed his eyes and let his head fall onto the pillow as his body trembled in aftershocks.

It took him a few minutes to remember that reciprocation was the only polite thing to do, that and he was dying to see Cas fall apart again. Only, he really wasn't sure he was ready to offer the angel the same treatment. Did that make him a coward?

Dean pushed those thoughts away as he pulled Cas in to capture his lips again. He pushed Cas's own boxers down and off, using his foot to move them somewhere near the end of the bed. He slid one muscled thigh in between the angel's legs as he let his hands slip down to grab Cas's ass. He pulled their hips flush together as he devoured the other man's mouth. He nipped at Cas's bottom lip with his teeth then soothed it with laps of his tongue. Dean rolled his hips against the angels and felt the hard length of Cas's erection trail across the jut of his hip, a warm wetness trailing where it slid.

Cas's breath hitched, his own hips thrusting against Dean. The hunter smiled into Cas's mouth. Dean let his hands move over the angel's ass, hips, thighs, exploring the area he's not had much of a chance to see yet. He thought for a moment about straying to that forbidden place, the most intimate place. He wondered what Cas would do. Was that something the angel wanted? Did that thought turn him on?

Curiosity won over and Dean let one hand move to the cleft of his ass. He let one finger slide down in between the cheeks to land on the furled hole hidden there. Cas gasped as his hips stuttered. Dean put the slightest amount of pressure there and Cas hissed as he came. The angel's whole body was vibrating as he pumped his load onto the hunter's hip. Dean was drunk on the powerful feeling he got from bringing the angel to that point. He moved his hands up until he was embracing Cas, holding him close as he came down from his orgasm induced high.

"You okay?" he asked, voice rough and wrecked.

"Yes. That was… I…" Cas's voice trailed off as he laid his head down on Dean's shoulder.

"Yeah, it was," Dean agreed, pretty sure he knew what Cas was trying to say. He pulled the angel even closer as he closed his eyes and let sleep take him, forgetting about the mess between them and the wet spot on the bed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Dean woke up the next time, it was to an empty, cold bed. His heart immediately dropped to his stomach. He knew it had been too good to be true. He honestly thought he would be the first to freak out, but apparently he was wrong. He sighed.

"Sam has called twice. I didn't want to wake you, so I told him we would meet with him before lunch," Cas spoke up from the door of the bathroom. Dean glanced over in surprise.

Cas was dressed in a light blue t-shirt and a faded pair of jeans. His hair still looked damp so he must have taken a shower. He didn't look like he was freaking out.

"What time is it?" Dean asked.

"Eleven thirty. Sam should be here any minute, so you might want to put some clothes on." Dean nodded and watched as Cas wandered over to the refrigerator, probably in search of another Mt. Dew. The angel looked rested and calm, it didn't seem like anything was bothering him, but he really needed to be sure.

"Hey, Cas. Are we… okay?" he asked hesitantly. Cas turned to look at him, a small smile on his face.

"Yes, Dean, we're okay," he answered.

"Good," Dean responded as he made his way from the bed into the bathroom.

"Dean? Don't forget your clothes this time. Your brother probably would prefer you put the clothes on before leaving the bathroom." Dean's laughter bubbled out with a snort. Yeah, Sam probably would prefer to not get a free peep show.

"Good idea. Wouldn't want Sammy to need to dig out the brain bleach." Cas's face screwed up in confusion. Dean laughed again. "You have so much to learn, Cas." The angel shrugged.

"Good thing I have you to teach me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Half an hour later, Dean found himself sitting across from his brother, Cas once again at his side. His friend kept his hands to himself and his eyes stayed on Sam as he explained the ritual Bobby had dug up. Everything seemed the same... yet at the same time, completely different. He refocused on what his brother was saying.

"So, the ritual needs a crap ton of power to work. From what we can tell," Sam slides some copies across the table to Cas. Dean can just make out scribbles in a language he doesn't recognize, "the ritual uses the bonds between the couple to fuel the magic used to create, well, a new life, to create a soul, more or less. That takes a lot of power. She would need a couple with a very, very strong bond to have enough power to pull this off. We're talking true love here, Dean, and I'm guessing the previous couples just weren't cutting it."

"Dude, 'true love'? Seriously? What is this, some kind of fucked up Disney movie?" Dean couldn't help but ask.

"It makes sense. Souls are massive pockets of pure energy. Some people find that one person who's soul bonds and meshes perfectly with their own soul and if you could harness two souls so perfectly bound together, you would have the power to do almost anything," Cas explained.

"Wait... are we talking soul mates now?" Dean asked incredulously. It wasn't the first time he'd heard that term, but he was having an even harder time believing in them now than he had back then.

"Yes, Dean. But they are rare. It would be highly unlikely she would find one in the small amount of people she meets through this resort."

"That's why I think we're on round four. My guess is she's brought these other couples before the goddess and while they might really love each other, they don't have this unbreakable bond needed to power the ritual. I bet she'll keep trying until she finds the right pair."

"Well, we'll just have to gank her before she has a chance to try again," Dean spoke up, stating the obvious. His brother fidgeted in his seat. "What?"

"I took copies of her files on each pair and I'm pretty sure she's narrowed it down to two couples," Sam explained, sliding two stacks of paper across the table. Dean felt his heart drop when the first names caught his eye. Jack and Alec. That made sense, really. They seemed to be the only serious couple in this place. The next couple brought Dean up short.

"What the fuck?" he asked, staring at his and Cas's names scrawled across the top of the folder. He turned to look at Cas and found the angel blushing. "Seriously?"

"She seems to think so," Sam told him with a shrug.

"So, what do we do?" Dean asked.

"I think we should keep an eye on Hannah and follow her on the full moon. She'll lead us right to the goddess and we can kill her. Bobby's looking into how as we speak."

"That's taking a pretty big risk with innocent lives," Dean pointed out.

"Well..." Sam started but trailed off.

"Well what?" Dean asked.

"Maybe you should try really hard to be the ones she chooses. Make sure you're the sacrifice." Dean just stared at his brother. "What?" Sam whined.

"And how do we do that? We can't control what goes on in that crazy-ass brain of hers." Sam rolled his eyes.

"I know that, but you can put on one hell of a show and convince her that Cas is the love of your life. It shouldn't be too hard for you, trust me," Sam finished in a mumble. Dean chose to ignore that last comment for now.

"Dean, he has a point. It would be much better for us to face the goddess than Jack and Alec, who have no idea what's going on," Cas pointed out. They were right, of course, but Dean was still nervous. Even when he was in long term serious relationships he had trouble showing how he felt, how was he supposed to convince Hannah?

"Yeah, you guys are right. We'll see what we can do. And on that note, we should head out so we can make it to our one on one session. We sorta missed the group session this morning," Dean said.

"Yeah, I bet," Sam muttered with a smirk.

"Shut up. Cas had a headache," Dean informed his brother.

"Dude, that's like the oldest excuse in the book," Sam told him with a laugh.

"No, it's the oldest excuse for not having sex. Get it right, Sam."

"So, you admit you were having sex this morning," Sam asked. Dean spluttered.

"That's not what I said!"

"Whatever, Dean, I was just giving you a hard time."

"God, you're such a bitch," Dean muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, heard that before," Sam told him with a smile as he made his way to the door. "I'll call when Bobby gets back to me on how to kill the goddess."

"Later, Sammy." Sam waved at Cas then turned and left the cabin, closing the door behind him. Dean turned to Cas.

"So, think we can pull this off?" he asked.

"I believe it's possible. It will ultimately come down to Hannah's decision, but there's a possibility that we can convince her to choose us."

"I hope so. For Jack and Alec's sake."

"I completely agree."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean sat down next to Cas at the table the other man had chosen. They'd made it just barely in time for lunch and the dining room was empty. They were able to grab a couple sandwiches and Dean was scarfing them down so they could head over to their session with Hannah. A tap on his shoulder drew his attention away from his food. He glanced up and found Alec standing behind him. He swallowed quickly and offered the blond man a smile.

"Hey, how's it going?" Dean asked.

"Good. We were worried about you when you didn't show up this morning. Everything okay?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just had a late morning, decided to stay in," Dean explained.

"That's good. Cas, man, you were pretty wasted last night, are you feeling okay?" Alec asked, turning to smile at Castiel. Cas blushed.

"I... don't drink all that often. I overestimated the amount of alcohol I could handle." Alec laughed at that.

"Hey, it happens to us all. We've all been there at some point. Well, I'll let you guys finish your lunch; I've got to get back to Jack anyway. We'll catch you guys later."

"See ya," Dean waved as the blond man left the dining room.

"I, uh, take it my actions were embarrassing last night?" Cas asked hesitantly.

"Dude, don't worry about it. Like Alec said, we've all done it before. It's part of being human," Dean assured him. Cas just smiled.

They finished their lunch quickly and headed over to the meeting room where their one on one sessions were held. Hannah was waiting for them when they got there. Dean reached over and took Cas's hand, threading their fingers together. Cas squeezed his hand as they took seats across from Hannah.

"We missed you this morning. I hope everything is okay," the blond woman told them, eyeing each of them in turn.

"Yeah, we thought we'd take some time for us. We've had a lot to think about over the last few days and it was nice to just talk and spend the time together," Dean explained. Hannah was practically beaming at them.

"That is so wonderful to hear! You two certainly seem happier, less stressed," she told them.

"We are," Cas agreed. Hannah eyed their clasped hands and her smile grew even wider.

"Well, in that case, let me ask you this: what would you like to discuss today? Anything particular on your mind?" she asked.

Dean had to think for a minute. What would be a good topic to bring up that would be in their favor? Something that would scream, "totally committed".

When both men were silent, Hannah spoke up again.

"Why don't I bring up a few topics and we can discuss them, or if either of you are uncomfortable, we can skip it and move on to the next?" she offered. Dean glanced over at Cas and nodded when he shrugged.

"Alright. Let's start with a pretty obvious issue. Dean, you said your family didn't know about the two of you. Do you think they would have a problem with your relationship? Is that what's keeping you from telling them?" Hannah asked.

Dean scratched at the back of his neck, thinking about the light teasing and the meaningful words Sam had said before, the way he had hinted that they already knew how he felt.

"Actually, uh, I've talked to them over the last couple of days and... well, I guess we weren't hiding it as well as we thought because they more or less knew," he explained.

"And how did they take it?"

"They were fine with it. I, uh, think they were happy to see me happy," he answered honestly. Hannah smiled brightly.

"That's wonderful, Dean. Cas, what about your family?" Dean felt Cas tense up beside him.

"My family... I, um, Dean and his family are my family, at least in the ways that matter," he replied quietly. Dean squeezed Cas's hand. Hannah nodded, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"Alright, we don't need to dwell on that. Now, you two seem much more comfortable around each other. I have seen you two being much more physical in the sessions. I know in the past any talk about your physical relationship made you uncomfortable, so I won't push the issue, but if you have any questions, you are more than welcome to ask them." Dean looked over at Cas and could tell by his expression that, act or not, this was one area they should stay away from. He had to agree.

"We, uh, we've been taking it slow, but I think we have that under control." Hannah nodded and thankfully didn't continue with that line of questioning.

"Okay, I'm going to bring something up that many couples don't often think to discuss but I've found it is good to talk about upfront, to know where both partners stand. You two are in this for the long haul, yes? I mean, you want this to last, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Dean answered as Cas gave his hand a squeeze.

"Have you two discussed a marriage or commitment ceremony?"

Dean just stared at her. Were those even legal?

"Uh... No, not really. Do we really need something like that?" he asked.

"Well, no, I guess you don't, but many feel that it's important to publicly make your commitment known. There's something symbolic about getting up in front of your friends and family and claiming your partner as yours, forever. Now, I don't mean to talk you into something you aren't ready for, I only wanted to bring it up so you two could discuss it." Dean just nodded. She seemed to be bouncing from point to point. She was worse than a damn basketball. He could plainly see how she was trying to get as much information as possible. She was actually kind of sloppy. Dean just loved when the bad guy was an idiot.

"What about children?" Cas spoke up. Dean whipped his head around to stare at the other man. What the hell?

Hannah's face went pale at Cas's question.

"What do you mean?" she asked, voice trembling slightly.

"Well, we've been talking with Alec and Jack and they've told us how hard it is for them and I know that Dean has always wanted a family. Is it really that hard for everyone or are they just running into bad luck?" Cas asked. Hannah shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"It is still looked down upon to bring a child into a same sex home, I'm afraid. Unless you have the money to go through a private agency, there really isn't a lot of hope and even if you can find an agency, you'd still need a family willing to give their child to you. But, if that is something the two of you truly want, something will work out, there are always ways," she told them with a small cryptic smile.

I bet, Dean thought. He knew know what ways she was talking about.

"Well, I think we are out of time, gentlemen. I hope I'll see you tomorrow at the group session," she told them, standing up quickly and making a hasty escape.

"Cas, I think you hit a nerve with your question," Dean told Cas as he stood to leave, much slower than Hannah had left.

"That was my intent," Cas admitted making Dean laugh.

Dean convinced Cas to take a walk before they headed back to their cabin. Sam still hadn't called them so he was pretty sure that meant no new information. It was a gorgeous day and Dean really wanted five minutes, just a short little break. Things with Cas were confusing and he was unsure about so many things. Five minutes in the beautiful outdoors where he could forget about the hunt would be perfect.

Cas must have understood because he just smiled and took Dean's hand, leading him off the path and into the woods. They stopped when they reached a small stream. Judging by where they were, Dean was pretty sure the stream fed into the pool they'd visited with Jack and Alec.

"It's in places like this that I am reminded of the beauty of my Father's works," Cas murmured. Dean couldn't help but agree. He reached for Cas and pulled the angel in, chests pressing together as their lips met. He snaked one hand around his waist and pressed it into his lower back while the other moved up to cradle his stubbled jaw. He licked along the seam of his lips and sighed softly when Cas opened easily for his exploring tongue.

The kiss was unrushed, a mere exploration. There was passion and heat, but it lacked the manic lust and sense of urgency that their previous encounters had been riddled with. He felt Cas grip his waist as their hips met in a lazy roll. This was nice and while Dean loved sex, he was content to keep this as it was.

After what felt like hours, Dean finally pulled back. Cas's lips were swollen and wet. His eyes were heavy-lidded, pupils dark and swollen. His appearance sent a bolt of heat straight to Dean's dick.

"We should probably get back," Dean muttered.

"Thought one of your fantasies was sex outdoors," Cas teased. Dean threw his head back and laughed.

"Yeah, it was, but we'll save that for after the case is closed," Dean told him. Cas gave him a small smile. Dean took his hand again and led him back towards the path.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sam hefted another piece of wood into the wheelbarrow. He needed to get all of the timber down to the pond before he could start on the dock. He'd already repaired the bridge but Hannah had decided the dock needed attention as well. Bobby was seriously going to pay for coming up with this idea. His blisters were getting blisters!

He bent over to pick up another piece of wood when a whistle sounded behind him. He spun around and found himself face to face with one of the campers. He had short, spiky brown hair and stood a bit shorter than Sam.

"Uh, can I help you?" Sam asked, taking a step back.

"Oh, you most definitely can. I'm afraid the tub in our cabin isn't draining properly. Think you can take a look at it?" the other man asked, eyes trailing up and down Sam's body. Sam had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Um, I'm really not a plumber. I can get Hannah to call someone for you if you want," he offered. The other man pouted.

"Well, I suppose that would work. Are you sure you don't want to take a look at it?" he all but purred.

"Yeah, very sure, I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway." The other man gave him an evil smile.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that hard to figure out." Sam blanched at that.

"I'm gonna go tell Hannah now about that," he told the camper before bolting for the main house.

Sam made it inside and up the stairs as quickly as he could. He wasn't sure where Hannah would be so he started towards the office first. That seemed to be his best bet. He raised his hand to knock when he reached the door but paused when he heard Hannah talking inside. He leaned in towards the door to hear what she was saying.

"-please, Derek, just hear me out." There was a silence before she continued. "I have it figured out. It's the answer to our problems. Everything will work out this time, I just know it. Derek, please, come home. No- ... That's no- Derek, if you'll just... Derek? Derek! Damnit!"

Sam heard a phone slam down. He pulled back quickly so he wouldn't be caught. He'd have to tell Dean about this. Raising his hand, he knocked on the door to inform her of the camper's plumbing problem when it dawned on him that he'd never even gotten the man's name. Oh well, he could describe him and she'd probably know. He had a feeling it was that creep Mike anyway. Sam shuddered at the thought. Did the guy even have a plumbing problem?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean and Cas walked into their cabin just as his phone started to ring. "Back in Black" blared from the tiny speaker letting him know Sam was calling. He flipped the phone open to answer.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Not much. Bobby's e-mailing you some texts to go over, see if you can find anything on how to kill the goddess," Sam told him.

"Great," Dean replied, moving over to the table to open his laptop. He glanced over at Cas and jerked his head, indicating to the angel to come over. Cas walked over and took a seat in front of the now open computer. "Hey, check the e-mails from Bobby, see if there's anything useful," he ordered before turning back to his conversation with his brother.

"So, did you find anything?" he asked.

"No, not really. But Bobby's sending me some stuff, too that I'll try to go over and he's looking at the books there at his house, so… between all that surely we'll find something, we always do," Sam told Dean. "Though, I did over hear a very interesting conversation."

"Yeah? Between who?"

"I think it was between Hannah and her ex. She was begging him to come back, saying she had a plan, had found a way to fix everything. I'm more sure than ever that she's our culprit."

"Wow, yeah, that sounds pretty incriminating. I'll let Cas know."

"Cool. Well, I'm going to get off so I can start looking through the links Bobby sent."

"Alright. Give me a call if you find anything."

"Sure, same with you."

"No problem. Later, Sammy."

"Bye, Dean."

Dean clicked his phone shut and turned to face Cas. The angel had a very strange expression on his face as he stared at the computer screen. Dean couldn't see what was on the screen from this angle.

"What's up?" he asked, moving closer to the table.

"Why would you need assistance with enlarging your penis?" Cas asked curiously.

Dean spluttered at that.

"What?"

"You have an e-mail with an offer to help you increase the size of your penis. Why? I would think you wouldn't want it much larger. If it were any bigger, it wouldn't…" Cas trailed off, face going brilliantly red.

"It wouldn't what?" Dean asked, unsure if he should be amused or embarrassed to be talking about the size of his dick with Cas.

"Nothing. I should read the e-mails Bobby sent," Cas responded, changing the subject abruptly.

"Cas, what's going on?" Dean asked, watching Cas's face darken even more.

"It's just that… nothing," Cas insisted once more.

"Are you saying I have a big dick?" he asked with a smirk. Cas glared at him, face still flushed.

"I wouldn't know in comparison, though I'm sure I could ask around," Cas told him. Wow, his angel was getting a mouth on him! Dean laughed out loud.

"Dude, it's not that big, I promise," he told Cas.

"It's large enough," the other man muttered under his breath. Dean raised an eyebrow.

"What's up, Cas?" he asked.

"Nothing," his friend replied, refusing to meet his eyes. Dean could tell something was up. It was funny at first, but now he could see that Cas was really uncomfortable. It wasn't quite so funny anymore.

"Hey, seriously, what's up?" Dean asked. Cas sighed.

"I am just… confused," Cas finally admitted.

"Confused about what?"

"How something that large could possibly… how anyone could find pleasure in having something like that placed inside of them," Cas mumbled.

"Uh… well… you know… okay, I have no idea. But obviously they do or, you know, there wouldn't be so many guys, and girls, who like getting it up the ass," Dean reasoned. Cas visibly swallowed. "Is that… I mean," Dean cleared his throat. He could feel his face heating up. He never, never, thought he would be having a conversation like this. "Is that something you're interested in trying?" Cas just shrugged. Dean sighed.

"Okay, look, man, as… uncomfortable as it is to talk about this shit, we have to be honest. I don't want to do anything that you aren't comfortable with. If there's something you're curious about, then, you know, ask. I can't promise I'll be totally on board with it, but… you know, you can still ask," Dean told Cas. Cas just nodded.

Dean moved close enough to place a hand on Cas's shoulder.

"Listen, think about, and… if it's something you want to try, then we will. But be sure." Cas licked his lips before turning to face Dean. Dean had an immediate mental image of his angel lying beneath him, writhing on his cock. He felt his dick jump at the picture. Yeah, he could totally get on board with this idea.

"I have thought about it," Cas whispered in confession.

"Really?" Dean asked. Cas nodded.

"I… I think it is definitely something I would like to try." Dean swallowed his nervousness.

"Oh… okay. Um, when? Like, now?" Dean wasn't sure if Cas meant, yes, he wanted to try it right the fuck now, or yes, he'd like to try it some time in the indefinite future.

"Yes. If… if you want to." Dean paused and thought about it. Sure, if he's honest, it's something that has popped into his head more than once over the last few days. He'd also admit that he is curious. He let his mind wander, picturing Cas naked, the body he'd become increasingly familiar with spread out for him. He let himself imagine fucking into his friend, the feeling of something hot and tight gripping his dick as he thrust.

"Yeah, yeah, I do. C'mon," Dean said, dragging Cas up out of his chair and pushing him gently towards the bed, all thoughts of e-mails and Bobby forgotten. He had no idea he'd ever be this excited at the thought of fucking another guy.

Dean quickly and precisely stripped Cas of his clothes and pushed him down on their bed. His own clothes followed and he only just remembered to grab the lube and a foil encased packet before he settled himself down between Cas's legs. He met his friend's nervous blue eyes and tried to offer a reassuring smile.

"You sure?" Dean asked, wanting to make sure his friend was one hundred percent on board before he started this.

"Yes, Dean," Cas answered, voice strained slightly.

Dean vaguely remembered what he was supposed to do as he lubed up two of his fingers. He had done this before, even if it was back in high school. He knew he needed to stretch Cas out first and that he needed to go slow. Otherwise, there wasn't much to it, right?

Dean slid one slick finger all the way into Cas's ass. The other man hissed and jerked at the intrusion. Dean stilled his finger inside. Fuck, he was tight.

"Sorry," Dean told Cas, using his other hand to pump his partner's cock, hoping to take Cas's mind off the slight burn he had to be feeling. Dean gave Cas a few minutes before pulling out and pumping his finger into Cas's body, moving the lube deeper into his ass. Cas's eyes were shut tight and his breaths were coming in pants.

"You okay?" Dean asked. Cas just nodded. Dean slowly slid his finger out and lined up two this time. He slid both his first and middle finger into Cas and watched the angel grimace. Cas's dick was starting to soften despite Dean's hand moving over it. Dean's brow furrowed. That wasn't supposed to happen, right? He carefully moved his fingers around, gently stretching Cas as he tried to get his friend's cock hard again.

It took a few minutes, but eventually Cas's dick started to fill again. Dean felt better. He was starting to worry there for a minute that maybe he was doing this wrong. He really didn't want Cas's first time to suck.

"Cas, man, you gotta let me know if you change your mind, if, you know, this isn't what you thought and you want to stop," Dean told him.

"I will."

Dean moved his fingers and teased Cas's cock for a few more minutes before pulling out. He grabbed the small foil packet and ripped it open. He rolled the rubber onto his hard flesh and coated it with lube before moving in to line the head of his cock up with Cas's now slick hole.

"Cas, you with me?" he asked, just now noticing that Cas hadn't opened his eyes yet. His jaw seemed tense as well. The angel nodded but didn't say anything. "Cas, man, look at me," Dean said, starting to worry a little.

Cas's blue eyes opened and met Dean's green ones. His friend looked nervous and a little unsure, but he didn't see any hesitation there. It made him feel a little better. He used his hand to hold his cock steady as he started to very slowly push in. Cas gasped and tensed, his body bearing down and forcing Dean out.

"Dude, you gotta relax," Dean told him.

"I am trying. It hurts," Cas bit out in an irritated voice.

"Well, yeah, it's supposed to. I'll go slow, just… just try to relax your muscles and don't fight me."

"Alright," Cas replied. Dean lined back up and pressed in again. This time, the head of his dick slid into Cas's tight hole. Cas hissed in pain, but didn't move away or push him out. Dean paused, afraid to move any more. This was not as hot as he had imagined. Once Cas's breathing was closer to normal, Dean tried to sink a few more inches. He'd been so worried about Cas and so focused on his friend, he'd lost a little of his arousal. He was still hard, but… not as hard as he had been.

Cas tensed once more, another painful hiss escaped his lips as his body once more tightened up, pushing Dean out again.

"Fuck!" Dean muttered in frustration. Cas was completely limp now and his thighs were quivering. The hunter was pretty sure it wasn't a sign of passion. "Cas, I'm sorry, I-"

"Dean, just… don't. I… this isn't working," Cas muttered, covering his face with his forearm. Dean's arousal was quickly fading, his cock only half hard now. The condom was sliding off, not able to cling to the shrinking flesh. He ripped it off in embarrassment and tossed it over the side of the bed.

"Man, I'm sorry. Let's just… we can try-" Dean started but Cas cut him off.

"Dean, stop. I think I'll go take a shower." Cas rolled off the bed and Dean caught a glimpse of his friend's very red, very embarrassed face. Well, fuck!

Dean rubbed tiredly at his face when he heard the shower turn on. That was so far from what was supposed to happen. He thought back over their encounter, trying to see what went wrong. Maybe it's just not something Cas is into? Some guys like to top, some like to bottom, right? It just happens that neither of them like to bottom. Or, Dean doesn't think he'd like to.

Though, Cas had seemed to like it at the beginning, when it was just his fingers. Did he do something wrong? Dean glanced around the cabin, hoping for an answer when his eyes landed on his laptop. Fuck it, he needed help and heaven knew he wasn't going to Sam with this.

He got up but didn't bother to put his pants back on as he walked over to the table where his closed laptop sat. He opened the screen and brought up his browser again. Hesitating over the Google bar, he took a few deep breaths. He could do this. He owed it to Cas, to make up for that abysmal attempt at sex. There was no shame in admitting you needed help, right? That's what Sam always told him. Dean set his fingers to the keys and jerkily typed in "gay sex: how to" and hit enter.

Thirty minutes and three articles later, Dean heard the shower turn off. He closed his laptop and smiled ruefully. He had a few ideas now where he'd gone wrong. He just hoped Cas would give him another shot.

Cas came out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his slender hips. He looked surprised to see Dean sitting, still naked, at the table. Dean stood up and walked over to the other man.

"Cas, man, I'm sorry," he told him, reaching out to grasp his arm, turning him so they stood face to face. Cas's shoulders slumped.

"Dean, it's fine, I just…" Dean didn't let Cas finish.

"No, listen. I fucked up, okay. I… Dude, I'll be honest, I really didn't know what I was doing. Give me another chance? Please? I think I can make it good. And if you still hate it, just say the word and I'll stop," Dean told him, cupping his jaw and leaning in for a tender kiss. He pulled back and stared into Cas's eyes.

Cas looked unsure, a little hesitant, but he finally nodded. Dean let his hands trail down to unfasten the towel and let it fall and pool on the floor around Cas's feet. Cas stepped over it as he followed Dean back to the bed once more.

Cas lay down again on the bed, but this time Dean stopped him as he was laying back.

"No, turn over, on your stomach." Cas gave him a confused look. "Just trust me," Dean told him, pushing him over so the angel was laying face down on the bed. Everything he'd read said it hurt less this way for the first time. "Here, lift your hips," Dean ordered gently, placing a pillow beneath Cas's hips once he'd raised them up. Cas pulled another pillow over to rest his head on.

Dean let his hands trail up and down Cas's naked back, never going lower than his waist, until the muscles had loosened a little.

"You okay?" Dean asked, voice low and gentle. Cas nodded into the pillow, body still soft and pliant. Dean smiled. Much better. He leaned over and pressed his lips to the spot right between Cas's shoulder blades. His friend gasped when Dean's lips touched his skin. Dean pulled back in surprise. He hadn't expected such a reaction.

"Sorry," he apologized. Cas glanced over his shoulder at him.

"That is a very… sensitive area," Cas said by way of explanation. Dean nodded, remembering how Cas had jumped when he'd slapped his back there once before. "It's… my wings, where they would be if…" Cas shrugged. He seemed unsure how to explain it. Dean had a mental picture of Cas lying naked just as he was, but with dark, majestic wings flowing on either side of him. Fuck. Dean felt his dick stir to life as he pictured the sight. Wing kink, huh? Who knew?

Dean went back to trailing kisses down Cas's back; taking his time and savoring each gasp and moan his angel made. When he reached the swell of Cas's ass, he pulled back. He grabbed the lube and generously coated two fingers. He was pretty sure he didn't use nearly enough lube last time.

He let his index finger circle the tight hole, spreading the lube all around the slightly puffy entrance before finally dipping in. He only went as far as his first knuckle then paused, letting Cas adjust to the intrusion. Cas gave a soft gasp and tiny moan, his muscle clenching briefly against Dean's finger before relaxing once more. Dean pulled back out and circled Cas's entrance again, gathering more lube before pushing in once more, this time sinking down to the second knuckle.

Dean continued with that pattern until his index finger sunk easily all the way in. He slowly pumped one finger in and out, crooking it slightly and hoping to catch Cas's prostate. He was pretty sure he found it when Cas gasped and thrust his hips back. Dean rubbed over it a couple times and smiled when Cas's hips never stopped their rocking motion.

He slipped one hand under Cas and was very pleased to find his angel hard and leaking onto the pillow below him. He gripped Cas's cock as he slid a second finger into him. Cas's breath hitched slightly at the new width but he stayed hard and his muscles only clenched slightly.

Dean worked very slowly, adding more lube multiple times to make sure Cas stayed slick. By the time Dean had four fingers buried in Cas's ass, his friend was humping the pillow in earnest, moaning and gasping. His body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and Dean was achingly hard.

"Dean, please," Cas's voice came out strangled and wrecked.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha." Dean pulled his fingers our carefully and looked around for the condom before remembering he hadn't grabbed another one. "Fuck. Give me a minute," he muttered, getting ready to get off the bed and go search for a rubber. Cas grabbed his thigh before he could stand up.

"Dean, what?" he asked, eyes wide and desperate.

"Condom. Just give me a minute," he explained. Cas shook his head.

"You don't need one. I am an angel and in a male body," Cas pointed out.

"Yeah, but.."

"Dean, please, I… I don't want anything between us," Cas admitted, face flushing slightly.

Dean had to grab the base of his dick hard to keep from coming at Cas's words. Okay, fine… no condom. Dean moved so he was kneeling between Cas's spread thighs. He grasped his friend's hips and helped him up onto his knees. Cas glanced back over his shoulder as he waited on all fours for Dean to do something.

Dean used the lube to slick up his cock, coating it liberally.

"Hold onto the headboard," Dean ordered. Cas's brow furrowed in confusion, but he did as he was asked. Dean moved in closer to Cas and lined up the tip of his dick with Cas's wet and loose hole. He slowly started to push in. He let his thumbs rub soothing circles into Cas's hips as the swollen head of his cock pushed through the ring of muscle.

Cas was taking deep, measured breaths, but he wasn't hissing or tensing or moving away, so Dean was going to count that as a win.

"You okay?" he asked anyway, just to be sure.

"Yes. It… it burns slightly, but… nothing like before," Cas admitted. Dean smiled. Hell yeah, score one for Dean Winchester!

"Good. You ready for me to move?" he asked, fidgeting from the need to gain a bit of friction. Cas nodded. Dean pushed in further, going very slowly. Cas keened softly and pulled away when Dean got about half way in. The hunter whispered a few nonsense words and stroked Cas's side soothingly until he'd settled again. Dean leaned over and pressed soft kisses to the area between Cas's shoulders, the place he knew his angel loved as he sunk the rest of the way in.

Dean moaned when he felt his balls pressed against Cas's ass. God, he was tight and hot and… just fucking perfect. He had to fight the urge to pull back and slam into his angel. Dean let one hand slip around to grasp Cas's still mostly hard dick.

"You good?" he asked, wanting to make sure he and Cas were still on the same page.

"Yes. Dean, move!" Cas groaned out in a broken voice, rocking back into Dean. That was all the encouragement Dean needed. He started a slow pace of pull and push, moving his hand over Cas's erection as he went. It felt incredible, better than… well, better than the women he'd been with. That was a scary thought. Dean was going to last a very embarrassingly short time, he was sure.

He sped up his hand over Cas's cock but kept his thrusts slow and easy. He angled his hips, searching for the best way to hit Cas's prostate. His angel gasped and thrust back against Dean roughly when he finally nailed it.

"Dean!" Cas keened, sounding somewhere between pleased and pained. He watched the other man grip the headboard until his knuckles turned white.

"I know, I know," he muttered, hitting Cas's prostate again and again as he pumped the angel's cock.

Dean watched as Cas threw his head back, tendons in his neck taut as bowstrings, and screamed out his release. Cas's muscles clamped down deliciously on Dean's dick as he thrust into him and streaks of white painted the headboard as Dean worked Cas through his orgasm.

He couldn't last any longer. Dean pressed high on Cas's back, forcing his shoulders down to rest on the bed but kept his ass in the air. The hunter leaned over his angel's back and let loose. His thrusts were rough and wild, he knew he was hitting Cas's prostate with each plunge and loved the little gasps that that pulled from his sated lover's lips.

Dean felt his orgasm rush over him, felt something pull from inside and burst forth. The mark on his shoulder burned painfully for a second before he spilled deep in Cas's ass. He collapsed in a gasping mess over Cas's back, dick still buried deep as it spit out the last of his come. He carefully pulled out and winced when Cas hissed.

"Sorry," he muttered into the damp curls at the back of Cas's neck. He eased off his partner to lie beside him. Cas rolled over so they were facing each other and gave Dean a smile.

"It's fine, Dean, I… thank you," Cas whispered, placing a chaste kiss on Dean's dry lips. Dean wrapped an arm around Cas and pulled him in close. They both needed to clean up and he'd need to change the sheets, but all of that could wait. Right now, he just wanted to hold his angel, hold him and forget about tomorrow, forget about next week, just forget about everyone outside of this room, this bed. At the moment, here and now was all that mattered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Castiel woke to the strangest sensation: a dull ache in a very awkward spot. It took a few minutes for him to remember what he had done the night before. When he did remember, a small smile graced his face.

He glanced over at the sleeping man beside him. His eyes trailed to the mark he had left on Dean's shoulder when he had pulled the Righteous Man from Hell. That had been an accident. He hadn't meant to brand his charge. An act like that was very deep and personal. It signified a much deeper Bond, one that he had no right initiating with Dean.

Cas sighed. It didn't matter now. He was fairly sure the time for completing the Bond had long passed. After all, if there ever was a time for the Bond to form, it would have been last night and... it hadn't happened. Dean would not wish to be Bonded to him, anyway. He may care for him, find him attractive and such, but Dean was not the type to "settle down" as Sam called it. He could not see Dean Binding himself to anyone for eternity.

Castiel felt the smallest tinge of regret at that. Last night had been... wonderful. It was... intense, emotionally and physically, and Cas couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like with his Grace intact. Would it have been even more powerful? Or would his Grace have dulled the sensations like it did for so many other things?

Dean shifted beside him before slowly opening his eyes. He gave him a sleepy smirk.

"You're thinking too hard," Dean mumbled. Castiel offered a small smile.

"I have to think hard. I have to compensate for your usual lack of thought," he replied, making another attempt at humor. He'd found it easier and easier and easier to come up with humorous quips and he secretly loved the fact that he could make Dean laugh.

Dean gave him a pleased smile. Cas wished he could keep the hunter like this. He seemed... happy. The weight he usually carried on his shoulders seemed lighter the longer they were here. Too bad it wouldn't last.

Dean reached over and slapped his arm, a small blush growing on his face.

"We, uh, should get up. We need to go over the stuff Bobby sent... and we should probably get cleaned up."

Cas nodded and carefully extricated himself from the bed, leading the way into the bathroom.

Dean stood behind Cas as he scrolled through the scans Bobby had sent. So far, no luck. He was about to call it a lost cause when Cas tensed up in his seat.

"What is it?" Dean asked, glancing over the page currently displayed on the computer screen.

"The book this references. I've seen it. Alec has a copy," Cas explained.

"Really? You mean something is finally working out in our favor?" Dean asked, smiling at their luck. "Well, let's go ask to borrow it. He'll believe you want to read that kind of shit. You pull off bookworm really well," Dean told him with a friendly slap on the back. The heatless glare Cas offered back rivaled Sam's bitchface.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean and Cas wasted no time in heading over to Alec and Jack's, with Dean calling Sam to fill him in on the walk over. When they reached the cabin, Dean slipped his phone back in his pocket and knocked on the door.

It took a few minutes for the door to open. When it did, Jack stood on the other side, hair wet and disheveled.

"Uh, hi guys," he greeted, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Hey. Um, is this a bad time?" Dean asked, worried that he'd maybe interrupted something between the pair.

"No, not at all, come on in," Jack offered, stepping back and letting them in. Dean walked in first with Cas close on his heels. "Want a beer or a soda?" Jack asked, walking over to the small kitchenette area.

"Beer would be great," Dean answered. He let his gaze wander through the cabin. When he caught sight of their bed, he froze. The bedding was rumpled and askew on the mattress and… two pairs of handcuffs were attached to the headboard. His eyes widened at the sight.

A door closing pulled his gaze away from the bed. He glanced over at the sound and found Alec leaving the bathroom, hair wet and tousled. He'd obviously just come from the shower. It was the first time he'd seen Alec with out his glasses. He looked a hell of a lot less like a geeky college professor minus the spectacles. Alec glanced up.

"Oh… um, hey. Didn't hear the door," Alec greeted them wide eyed. The blond man's eyes danced around the room frantically before landing on the still rumpled bed. His face flared red. Dean couldn't help but glance over again. He was hit with the mental image of the man before him strapped to said bed.

"Beer?" Jack asked, pulling Dean's attention back to the room.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, thanks, man," Dean reached out to take the beer Jack was handing him. His eyes caught on a red, slightly irritated looking mark on the other man's wrist. It took a second for it to all add up in Dean's mind, but when it did, his brain froze. Okay, so not what he had expected. It had obviously not been Alec cuffed to the bed then…

"So, what's up?" Alec asked, walking passed Jack to the refrigerator, glasses firmly in place once more.

Dean turned to Cas, hoping the angel would pick up the conversation, knowing the request would be more realistic coming from him. His friend hadn't even heard the question. Cas was too busy staring at the bed, eyes as wide as Dean's had been, face flushed a pale pink. He had no idea Cas would have even known what those cuffs had been for, but… he was apparently wrong.

"Cas?" Dean asked.

"Oh!" Cas gasped, turning back to them before clearing his throat. Dean watched both Jack and Alec blush again. There was now a giant elephant in the room and the hunter wasn't sure how to get rid of it. Luckily, Cas pulled through again. "Actually, there was a book you had the first day that I am really interested in and, well, I was wondering if perhaps I could borrow it?"

Alec blinked at the angel for a second before breaking out into a relieved smile.

"Sure. Um, which one?" Alec and Cas started to walk over to the other side of the room, deep in conversation about the multitude of tomes the teacher had apparently brought with him on this trip.

"So… uh… we didn't come at a bad time, did we? 'Cuz you could totally tell us to leave," Dean blurted out. Jack cleared his throat and scratched at his ear.

"Nah, we're good. Sorry if… I mean… oh never mind. We were thinking about going swimming later, want to join us?" he asked, changing the subject altogether for which Dean was very grateful.

"I'll ask Cas. I'm not sure what we've got going on, but give us a call at the cabin before you head out and we'll see."

"Dean, we should head back. You are supposed to call you brother soon," Cas called to him. Dean turned to face his friend and could see the angel was excited about something. Hopefully it had something to do with that book.

"Right. Yeah, uh, thanks for the beer. Call us?" Dean asked, walking over to stand by Cas.

"Sure. See ya," Jack walked the pair to the door and waved as they started down the walkway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dean tried to keep his mind on their case, on the book Cas seemed to think held the answers they needed, but his mind was working in over time, vivid Technicolor images were parading around in his brain, each one a little more disturbing than the last though the most disturbing part had to be the way he was hardening in his pants.

For all the times he'd been tied up, held down, restrained in any way, shape or fashion, the thought of that should not turn him on. But he had to admit, the thought, the idea, of giving up total control, of being at Cas's mercy, it was… not something he'd thought of before, but… well, kinda hot.

"Dean!" Cas called out, waving a hand in front of his face. He realized they had made it to their cabin, but he had stalled on the porch.

"Uh, sorry. What?" he asked, meeting the angel's annoyed gaze.

"I asked if you wanted to call Sam and tell him about the book or if you would prefer to wait until I have read it?"

"Might as well wait. That way if it's a bust, we won't waste his time. He's probably still going over his half of the stuff Bobby sent. That or playing slave to Hannah."

Cas nodded then turned to open their cabin door. Dean followed the other man into the small building that had quickly become so familiar to him. He was actually going to miss this little cabin when the case was over and they headed out.

He glanced over at their bed and noticed that new sheets were carefully made on the bed. Someone, hopefully not Sam, had been in to change the bedding and probably the towels as well. Great.

He watched Cas walk over to the small table and sit down. He placed the book on the wooden surface and began to read. Dean suddenly felt a little useless. There wasn't much he could do at the moment, though. Cas had the research covered, so Dean plopped down on the neatly made bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to get his mind to slow down enough to relax. Not the easiest thing.

Dean slowed his breathing and let his mind pick up on the small, quiet sounds of Cas flipping through the pages of the old book. Slowly, he sunk into sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first thing Dean was aware of was a gentle hand running through his hair. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the light in the cabin. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep and the light coming in from outside gave no indication as to the time. He rolled his head to the side to glance up at Cas. The angel was sitting beside him on the bed, a serene expression on his face.

"Hey," he murmured, voice dry from sleep.

"You were distracted when we returned from Alec and Jack's cabin. What's wrong, Dean?"

"Nothing," he hastened to answer. He wasn't about to admit to Cas just what he'd been thinking on the way back from their friend's place.

Cas let his hand trail down Dean's side, then along his hip and down to rest on his half-hard cock.

"Did you not tell me that we should be honest with each other? That we should tell each other if there was something we wished to try?" Cas asked quietly, hand gently rubbing him through his jeans, encouraging his dick to grow harder with each swipe.

"Low, Cas," Dean muttered, wondering if the angel might have retained a small amount of his grace, enough to read Dean's mind. Cas just shrugged, eyes glued to his hand as it moved along Dean's erection.

"I saw you staring at their bed, at the… restraints. Many people find that arousing, correct? I believe I've seen you watch porn that used that particular trope."

"Jesus, Cas! You watch me watch porn? Dude!" Cas shrugged once more.

"Dean, if you would like to… restrain me, I don't mind," Cas told him, finally meeting his eyes. Dean swallowed. Is that what he thought? What would he think if he knew the truth? Dean thought back to Cas's nervous trust as he'd told him about his desire for full on sex. He had said they needed to be honest with each other, right? If he couldn't be honest about this shit with Cas, who could he be honest with?

"Not exactly," Dean muttered. He could feel his face flushing and was embarrassed to find himself blushing yet again in front of his angel. He was worse than a teenage girl!

Cas looked at him in confusion. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Oh…" he murmured, head tilted to the side as he watched Dean. "That… actually makes sense."

"How do you figure that?" Dean asked, because, really? It didn't make sense to him at all.

"Well, for someone that has a great need to always be in control of every situation, I can see how it would be arousing and stimulating to give some of that control up. To let someone else be in control for a while," Cas explained. And when he said it like that, Dean kinda got it.

"We're supposed to be looking for what can kill that goddess," Dean pointed out.

"It can wait. The full moon is not tonight. Dean, it's okay," Cas told him. Dean stared at his friend, green eyes meeting blue, and he could see that the angel was nervous, too. This was something new for Cas as well.

"I-" Dean started but stopped when he realized he had no idea what he wanted to say. Cas stood up from the bed, eyes going hard. Dean nodded at the angel.

"Take your clothes off," Cas ordered, voice hard and low. The tone sent blood pounding straight into Dean's dick. The way he said it reminded Dean of the time Cas had threatened to throw him back into Hell. The hunter immediately started stripping off his clothing. He watched Cas move over to their duffel bags. The other man pulled something out of the nearly empty bags and Dean froze, midway through taking off his jeans, when he realized what Cas was carrying.

The angel was holding two ties. One was the familiar blue tie Cas had always worn before this job and the other was the tie he wore with his FBI getup. Dean swallowed. His heartbeat sped up as he fumbled to get his jeans the rest of the way off. He wasn't really doing this, was he? His dick seemed to hope so.

"Lay back down."

Dean started to stretch back out on the bed and froze. This was crazy. He couldn't do this, he really couldn't do this. Cas walked back over to the bed and sat down beside him.

"Dean, do you trust me?" That was all it took to convince him that yes, he could do this. He wanted to do this.

He lay back on the bed, keeping his eyes glued to his friends.

"Put your hands above your head." Dean complied and felt a thrill go throw him as Cas moved to the top of the bed.

He carefully took each of Dean's wrists and used the silk ties to fasten his hands to the headboard. Dean tugged and found that he was bound, but not tightly. If he really wanted to, he could get out. Cas stepped back and watched him. Dean was starting to feel uncomfortable when Cas finally moved. He reached into the bedside table and pulled out the tube of lube they had stashed back there that morning.

"Cas… I don't… I don't think I'm ready for that," he spit out nervously.

Cas gave him a knowing smile.

"I know. Please, trust me."

He watched the angel crawl on the bed to straddle his thighs. He met his friend's eyes and found uncertainty there. It dawned on him that Cas didn't really know what he was doing here either; they were both playing this by ear.

Cas reached up and ran a finger along Dean's jaw then over his lips. He let his hand slide over to cup Dean's face in a move that was too tender. The angel leaned over and kissed Dean, gently pressing his lips against the hunter's. Dean moaned into Cas's mouth when the other man deepened the kiss. He was surprised to find himself turned on by the fact that he was completely naked while Cas was still completely clothed.

Cas's rough jeans were rubbing deliciously against Dean's naked erection. Cas pulled away from Dean's mouth and let his lips trail along his neck and over his shoulder. He pressed several light kisses on his mark, causing Dean to hiss as pleasure rippled through him.

Cas trailed his fingers over the raised edges of the mark. He continued his trail of kisses down the rest of Dean's body until he came to his dick. He paused over the leaking tip and Dean closed his eyes, ready to feel warmth and wetness. Instead, he felt a gentle breath as Cas blew over the head and moved on.

"Cas…" Dean whined.

Cas snapped his eyes up to meet Dean's.

"Do not speak." Dean snapped his mouth closed. Cas continued to explore every inch of Dean's body with his mouth, lingering kisses in some places, mere brushes of his mouth in others.

Dean didn't realize he was fidgeting and twisting his hands until Cas rose up and placed a hand over his wrists. He stopped moving and stared. At this angle, he had the perfect view of Cas's jean clad arousal. The angel was definitely hard inside the denim.

Cas moved away from Dean and stood up from the bed. He slowly started to remove his clothing as Dean watched. When Cas was naked, he moved back to take his place astride the hunter once more.

Dean keened when Cas finally placed his lips around his dick. Cas's actions were a little surer this time, though he still seemed a little off on his rhythm. Dean really didn't care. He felt his orgasm rushing nearer.

"Cas!" Dean gasped, the moaned when the angel let go of his dick with a pop. "Wha-?" Dean asked.

"I believe I told you not to speak," Cas told him, voice rough and fucked sounding. Dean was breathing harshly and his cock was bobbing against his stomach, aching for release. He tried to move his arms down to finish off himself, forgetting that he was tied up. He glanced up at his silk bound hands and cursed. Cas pulled back, sitting up on his thighs once more. He sat there, staring at the hunter until Dean finally gave in and fell still and silent.

Cas cocked his head to the side. He reached over and took the lube he'd pulled out earlier and dribbled a bit into his palm. Dean sighed. Finally. Only, instead of reaching out and taking his aching flesh in his hand, Cas grasped his own dick. Dean watched the angel stroke his dick, touching himself for the first time.

Cas's eyes fluttered closed as his palm moved over his rigid flesh. Dean's breaths came out in pants as his eyes stayed glued to his friends rapidly pumping hand. Cas moaned and threw his head back. Warm, wet streaks erupted from the angel's cock as he came, landing on Dean's stomach and chest. Dean bit his tongue to keep his moan in. He knew if he let even the slightest sound out, Cas would leave him hanging here.

The angel gave him a small smile and reached out with his semen-covered hand, and finally grasped Dean's dick. He moved his slick hand over the hard flesh only a handful of times before Dean felt his orgasm take over him. He felt warm splatters of come land on his stomach to mix with Cas's cooling spend.

Dean kept his eyes closed tight as his breathing leveled out and his heart rate slowed to normal. Cas leaned over and kissed his lips gently as he untied his bindings. Dean carefully lowered his arms, letting the blood rush back into the slightly numb appendages. He put his arms around the angel and hugged him close.

"Thanks, Cas," he muttered into his friend's neck.

"You're welcome, Dean… Dean? Dean?"

Dean found himself being gently shaken awake. He blinked, disoriented, and then moaned at the aching throb coming from his still hard dick. A dream. It was all a dream.

"Dean?" Cas asked again, a look of concern on his slightly flushed face. "You were dreaming. Are you… okay?"

Dean sat up and grabbed his friend, pulling him in roughly and pressing his lips against Cas's. He rolled them so that he was on top of the angel.

"Yeah, dreaming," he muttered into Cas neck as he kissed down his throat. The rest was lost in a blur of hot, wet, frantic movements as clothes were shed and skin pressed together. Whispered words and low moans accentuated the stillness of the room until both men gasped out their release.

As Dean held Cas, both half closed and very dirty, the angle gave a chuckle.

"Must have been some dream."

"You could say that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am on Twitter, Aleisha_Potter7, and on Tumblr, aleishapotter. I'm rather new, so I'm still getting the hang of it, but I am offering a follower incentive! The first five ppl to follow me on either and add a brief prompt will get a ficlet just for them based on said prompt. :) I have no shame in bribery! It can be Destiel, or another Supernatural pairing. I will also say that I have taken a shine to Sterek (I honestly can't stand anything else on Teen Wolf, unless its Scissac... no shame) so, if that floats your boat, throw it in!! Off to post the final part!! CIao!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final part, plus the epilogue... enjoy!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the final little bit! The sequel will start posting very soon as well! Enjoy!!
> 
> I have no idea what happened earlier, but most of part five didn't show up, just the Epilogue... it should be fixed now... so sorry!!

Hard Road

Dean glanced over at Cas's back as the angel perused the old book in front of him. Their mid-afternoon romp had been enjoyable, but had set them back a bit in the research and that really wasn't going to cut it. He was _not_ going to have to explain to Sam why he didn't have an answer to their goddess problem, that would just be too damn awkward, even for their relationship. Nope, not happening.

"Dean! I think I found something!" Cas called out, interrupting his musings.

"Really?" Dean asked, surprised but pleased.

"Yes. I believe she can be destroyed with a birch stake, anointed in the blood of one who is righteous," Cas declared.

Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Um, okay. Kind of... random." Cas rolled his eyes at Dean (that was getting old fast) and motioned him over to the table. He showed the hunter the open book and pointed at the relevant passage. Dean read over it and sure enough, it seemed like it would be that simple.

"Okay. Birch. We can do that. But... 'anointed in the blood of one who is righteous'? Where are we gonna get that?"

Cas gave him an odd look. Dean was lost.

"Dean. You _do_ remember who you are, don't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Cas sighed.

"You are the Righteous Man. I believe your blood should suffice," Castiel explained.

"Oh," and didn't that just feel odd. "Well, I guess we should call Sam."

"That is probably a good idea."

Dean flipped open his phone and hit the number one, allowing the speed dial to quickly connect him to his brother. Sam answered after a handful of rings.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, Sam. I think we've got a lead," Dean started in without fanfare.

_"Really? Great, because I've got nothing here. Want me to come on over?"_

"Yeah, that'd be great, Sammy. See ya in a few."

Dean closed his phone and tossed it down on the bed. The very rumpled bed. Oh well, Sam could deal with it.

"Is it really that easy?" he blurted out. He knew how their lives went, nothing was _ever_ this easy. Ever.

Cas stood up from the table and walked over to where Dean was standing at the foot of the bed. He reached out and laid a hand on Dean's hip, squeezing gently.

"I would hardly call this case easy. And while the means of her demise are rather straightforward, I do believe that the actual act itself will be rather difficult. We still have her guard dogs to worry about."

"Right. Like I said, nothing in this job is ever easy."

Cas leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Dean's lips then pulled back, looking unsure, as if he wasn't entirely comfortable with taking a liberty like that. Dean offered him a reassuring smile and kissed him back.

Dean pulled back when a knocking sound broke the silence of the small cabin.

"Sammy," he announced, though he really didn't need to. Cas had to know it was his brother. Dean moved over to the door and opened it, letting Sam in.

"Hey. So, jack pot?" Sam asked, quickly moving into the room.

"We think so. Show him the book, Cas."

Castiel went over to the table and picked up the book, bringing it back to Sam.

"A birch stake, anointed in blood. Pretty simple, huh?" Dean summarized while Sam read over the passage. His brother glanced up once he'd finished and gave a snort.

"Dean, it's never that simple."

"Yeah, that's what I said, but... it looks like it is here. Of course, then we've got the wanna-be hell hounds and we have to figure out where she actually is, how to get to her or bring her to us, not so simple," Dean told him.

"Well, first things first. The stake. There are birch trees in the woods. Want me to cut some?" Sam asked, glancing back down at the book.

"Yeah, that'd be best. Uh, Cas? Exactly how much blood do you need?" Dean asked.

"And where do you plan to get it?" Sam interjected.

"We won't need much blood, and Dean will provide the blood."

Sam furrowed his brow, glanced a Dean then muttered a soft, "oh."

"Yeah, 'oh,'" Dean said, rolling his eyes. "So, problem number two: how do we find her?"

"My best guess would be to start at that cave. That's where we found her guard dogs," Sam offered.

"I agree with Sam. The sigils there were very concentrated as well," Cas told them.

"And she's what? Just hanging out there? Do we need some way to summon her?"

"The summoning ritual requires the blood of a virgin," Cas informed them.

"Oh."

"It's almost the full moon," Sam pointed out. "Can we assume she'll be there for the ritual and attack then?"

Cas canted his head to the side.

"I believe that may work best. It is the one time we know exactly when and where she will be."

"That's cutting it awfully close and putting some innocent people in danger," Dean said, looking from his brother to his angel.

"Unless she's planning on using you and Cas," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but what if she's not?"

"Okay, then, do you know a virgin? Or how to get virgin blood?" Sam asked.

"No." Dean answered in a clipped tone.

"Then what else are we going to do, Dean?"

"I don't know, Sam!" Dean snapped.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Cas spoke up, stopping the brothers before a real fight could break out.

Dean took a deep breath.

"Okay. Alright, so... we wait? Tonight's not the full moon, right?"

"Right. And, you should probably use the time we have until the full moon to convince Hannah that she needs to sacrifice you and Cas. It'll take all the innocent bystanders out of the equation," Sam suggested.

"Worth a shot. You up for it?" Dean asked, glancing towards his angel.

Cas nodded.

"Okay. Then, I'm off to cut a birch branch. I'll drop it by later tonight, sound good?"

"Great. Thanks, Sammy."

"Dean-"

"Yeah, I know, don't call you Sammy."

Sam huffed a sigh and shook his head.

"I don't know how you put up with him," Sam said, glancing over at Cas with a smile.

"Ropes... and gags," Cas deadpanned.

Dean nearly chocked as Sam burst out laughing.

"Dude! TMI!"

Cas looked a little confused.

Sam waved and left the cabin as Dean turned towards Cas.

"What the hell?" he asked with a smile.

Cas shrugged.

"I am allowed to joke, am I not?" Cas asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hell, yeah, just... uh, not about sex... at least with Sam."

"Oh."

Dean laughed.

"Oh, forget it, the look on his face was too good. Way to go, Cas."

Cas smiled.

"We should probably show up at dinner, then, if we want Hannah to think we'd be the perfect baby making pair."

"I agree. Shall we?" Cas motioned towards the door.

* * *

Dean and Cas took their customary seats across from Jack and Alec and quickly realized they'd interrupted a very... _interesting_ argument.

"You can say that all you want, but I'm telling you, he's a total bottom," Alec swore.

Dean glanced at Cas out of the corner of his eye. He really wasn't sure he wanted to know what they were talking about. He opened his mouth to try and change the subject when a loud voice caught all of their attention.

"Tommy! Get over it! Your whining is seriously getting on my last nerve!" Mike hissed out for the whole room to hear. The shorter man got up from the table he'd been sitting at with his partner and stormed out of the room. Tom glanced around, face red with embarrassment before standing up and leaving the room in the opposite direction that Mike had gone.

"Those two... I don't know how they haven't killed each other yet," Alec whispered, sounding really sad.

"Mike's such a douche," Jack added, shaking his head.

"Why does Tom stay with Mike if he is so horrible to him?" Cas asked.

Alec and Jack looked at each other before Jack spoke up.

"Who knows. I see the same shit in abuse victims all the time. We get called in, time and time again, but one partner just won't leave the other. Sometimes its deep seated issues, other times it's just... they don't think they deserve any better. It's sad any way you look at it."

Cas nodded, a deep frown on his face.

"Okay, this is cheery. Seriously, they've got problems, let them figure their own shit out," Dean told the group, really wanting to get a smile back on his angel's face.

"I agree," Alec said, digging back into his plate of food.

"Kirk and Spock," Jack blurted out.

Dean was confused.

"Huh?" he asked.

"It's a game. We guess at which person in each pairing would be the top and which would be the bottom," Alec explained, blushing a little. Dean let out a bark of laughter.

"Kirk's totally taking it up the ass," Dean announced with relish.

"I have to agree with him," Jack said. Dean offered him a smile.

"Who...?" Cas asked. Dean chuckled before throwing an arm around the shorter man.

"Remind me to introduce you to Star Trek when we get home. You and Sammy can geek out over it," he told Cas.

"So, swimming tomorrow?" Alec asked, ending their game.

"Uh, give us a call. We'll see," Dean told him. He wasn't sure what other prep they'd need to do, but he kind of thought a relaxing afternoon with Cas would be nice before this whole thing ended. And didn't that just make him a girl?

"Well, we really do need to head out. Jack promised his sister he'd call her on her birthday and... the day is almost over," Alec explained as he stood up, taking his now empty tray with him.

"Have fun," Dean told the other man. The couple waved their goodbye and left, hand in hand.

"I don't understand the point of their... _game_ ," Cas admitted, picking at his salad.

"Honestly? Neither do I. I guess it's kinda like... boxers or briefs. Or.. guess her bra size. Pointless games to pass the time and make you laugh," Dean tried to explain.

"Oh." Cas still looked confused. "Why does it matter which partner is penetrating the other?"

Dean choked on his water at Cas's rather loud question. He glanced around, but thankfully no one was paying attention to them.

"Uh... well, it matters a lot to some people. Some... uh, some people really don't like, um... being penetrated," Dean tried to explain as his face heated up. Jeez, how in the world did he end up in these conversations!

"Oh... I'm assuming you are counting yourself in that group?" Cas asked.

"You know what? Let's finish this discussion back in the cabin," Dean told him, turning his attention back to his half eaten meal.

Cas nodded and continued to eat in silence.

* * *

When they made it back to the cabin, Dean was a nervous mess. He didn't even know why. It was just a conversation. Right?

He sat down on the bed and watched Cas make his way over to the refrigerator and dig out a can of Mt. Dew. He had a feeling his angel had an addiction. Though, after the glimpse he'd had of Cas from 2014, a little caffeine addiction was nothing.

"Okay. So... ask," he offered, opening up the discussion.

Cas tilted his head to the side.

"You don't enjoy penetration," Cas made it more of a statement than a question.

Dean shifted on the bed.

"I don't... honestly? I've never done that so... I have no idea. But, it doesn't sound pleasant," he admitted, deciding honesty was the best bet here. Get it over with quickly.

Cas walked over to the bed and sat down beside him, can of soda tight in his grip.

"I assure you, it is very pleasant," he told him with a smile. It was _really_ nice to see Cas smile. He didn't do it often enough.

"Yeah, that's what your grimaces and hisses were telling me that first time," Dean snipped.

Cas's smile slipped off his face.

"That... was _not_ pleasant. But I believe that might have more to do with our... technique than the act itself."

Dean couldn't argue with that. He was adult enough to admit that was mostly his fault.

"But, the second time, I promise, was very pleasant."

Dean swallowed nervously, almost afraid to ask his next question.

"Is that... is that something you want me to try?" he asked, turning his head to look fully at the other man.

Cas stared at him openly for a minute before answering, eyes never leaving his.

"Dean, I would never ask you to do something you were uncomfortable with," Cas swore, and Dean believed him. Cas would never be one to pressure him, to ask for more, it just wasn't Cas. So, why did that thought make him feel guilty?

* * *

Later, when asked, Dean wouldn't be able to say exactly what led him to this point, but he would be able to say that he was pretty sure he was always going to end up here.

Two slim hands gripped his naked hips, hard. He was pretty sure he'd have bruises there in the morning. Dean shifted nervously on Cas's thighs where he was perched. Cas leaned against the head board, blue eyes watching him warily.

"Are you sure?" Cas asked.

"Damn it, Cas, I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't sure," Dean growled to hide the fact that no, he really, really wasn't sure, but Cas's questions earlier had made him realize that... well, was it really fair for him to ask, to expect something from Cas that he wasn't willing to offer in return? He trusted his angel, with everything, he could trust him with this.

Cas stared deep into Dean's eyes and he was filled with that feeling that the angel was staring past him and into his soul.

"Are you doing this out of guilt, Dean? Because if that's so, I don't want this."

Dean sighed. Yes, he'd felt guilty earlier, but when he'd really thought about it, no, he wasn't doing this out of guilt. This was something he wanted. There was precious little he could give Cas, but... this was one thing he _could._

"No. This is something I want to do with you. Now, can we drop the chick flick shit?"

Cas gave him a small smile and nodded as he slid his right hand from Dean's hip to circle around and trace the crease of his ass. A shiver ran down Dean's spine, part anticipation and part nerves. His dick definitely seemed to be into it though.

"Lube," Dean reminded Cas, a slight quiver to his voice.

Cas reached over and grabbed the tube of lubricant they'd left on the bed in preparation. He quickly slicked up two fingers and went back to griping one hip while his other hand went back around, forefinger lingering just against the puckered opening.

"I don't... I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do," Cas admitted.

"It's pretty self-explanatory," Dean told him. "Just... one at a time, and go slow."

Cas nodded before taking a deep breath. As if he was the one who needed fortifying.

Slowly, Cas let one finger breach the tight muscle and sink in.

"Fuck!" Dean bit out at the burning stretch. How the hell had Cas taken his dick the other night!

"Dean," Cas called, earning his attention. The other man let his left hand move up from Dean's hip to his shoulder. He pulled the taller man down so his forehead rested on Cas's right shoulder, then he let his hand move down to take Dean's semi-hard cock in his hand. He kept the finger inside Dean perfectly still while he slowly stroked him back into full hardness.

Dean shifted as the burn faded into a fullness, into pleasure. It still felt weird, but... a pleasant sort of weird. Cas kept the strokes on his dick easy and slow as he pulled his finger out and pushed it back in. It didn't hurt, but Dean wasn't sure it felt good either.

Cas continued with both the strokes and the thrusts before Dean felt a second finger at his entrance. He tightened up on instinct, but Cas didn't enter him. Instead, he sped up the strokes on his cock, adding a little twist just at the head that brought all of Dean's attention to his dick.

"Fuck," he whispered as Cas stroked him closer to the edge. He was so into the hand job, he almost didn't notice the second finger slide into his ass. A slight sting and an even fuller feeling let him know that it had happened.

Cas kept up his strokes on both his dick and in his ass and his fingers hit something. Something that had Dean seeing stars.

"Holy shit!" he bit out, throwing his head back and gulping in air.

"Yes, very pleasant, isn't it?" Cas asked, voice wrecked. Dean glanced down and noticed Cas's very hard cock for the first time. It was swollen and precum pearled and spilled from the slit.

Cas's fingers brushed against his prostate again, sending jolts of pleasure along his body. He reached out and grasped the other man's dick, offering pleasure in return.

Cas's mouth fell open as Dean stroked him from root to tip. The rhythm the angel had set up faltered as Dean thumbed at the bundle of nerves just under the head.

"You... you are making this very hard to concentrate," Cas mumbled as his fingers brushed over Dean's prostate once again. Dean let a moan slip out as he leaned forward, burying his face in the bend where neck met shoulder.

"So sorry," he whispered into sweaty skin, even though he was far from sorry.

Cas's hands kept moving, finding their rhythm again even as Dean kept up his own stroking. He added a third finger just as he gave a twist of his hand and let his thumb flick over the slit of Dean's dick. The multiple sensations were enough and Dean surprised himself by shooting all over Cas's hand and their stomachs.

"Fuck! Sorry... I..." Dean muttered, brain floating in the high of orgasm.

Cas's hand, covered in semen, grasped his own dick and his fingers interlaced with Dean's. Together they stroked Cas to his own completion.

They both sat together, panting until they could catch their breath.

"Wow," Dean muttered into Cas's shoulder.

"I told you."

"Smug bastard," Dean blurted out with a laugh. He shifted and finally remembered the fingers up his ass. He grimaced at the feeling. It didn't feel quite as pleasant any more.

Cas lay a calming hand on his side and pecked his lips as he pulled his fingers out. That part was _far_ from pleasant. Cas chuckled at the face he made.

"Shower?" the angel offered.

"Definitely," Dean agreed, getting up off the bed and flinching at the pull in his ass. And that was with only Cas's fingers. Again, he had to wonder how in the world Cas's had handled his dick.

 

* * *

 

The next days passed in a blur of corny therapy sessions, playful meals with Jack and Alec and the occasional swimming trip, though they never went back to the hot pool, and steamy nights of… well, some of the best sex Dean had ever had. So, of course, it would all come to an end. Not that Dean was going to miss some of the campers. For example, he would die a very happy man if he never saw Mike or Tom again. Those two needed more than a week in the woods to fix their relationship.

What he _was_ going to miss, though, was the domesticity he had here in this secluded place. It was easy to forget about the evil things that went bump in the night while he was lounging around his cabin in the woods with his angel curled up at his side.

He wasn't stupid. He knew this was the closest to white picket fence he was ever going to get. Cas turned over in his sleep and burrowed closer to him. It was just before dawn, the morning of the full moon. Whatever was going down was happening tonight. Dean and Cas had done their best, from dopey eyed glances to public groping to a fake marriage proposal on Dean's part to convince Hannah that they were it, the real deal, but they really had no way of knowing if she would choose them when the time came.

They would just have to take it as it came. They were pretty good at playing it by ear by now.

Cas shifted where he lay, snuggled tight against Dean. This, right here, might be one of the things Dean would miss most. He loved watching Cas sleep and he knew that once he was mojo'd up again, he wouldn't need to sleep. If this was their last morning to wake up together, he was taking full advantage.

Dean reached out under the thin sheet and started to stroke Cas's dick. It was soft still but as he ran his hand down it's length, it quickly started to harden. Cas shifted in his sleep and his face scrunched up at Dean's ministrations. The hunter leaned over and started to place gentle kisses along the angel's collarbone. That seemed to wake Cas up and Dean smiled when cloudy, blue eyes met his gaze.

"Morning," he whispered before leaning in and kissing the other man. Cas returned the kiss with enthusiasm. He couldn't believe how far Cas had come in the ten days they'd been here. His confidence had grown in leaps and bounds and Dean loved it. He loved that Cas would pin him to the bed and take what he wanted, that his angel could wring the pleasure from him like one would wring water from a towel.

"Morning," Cas growled and reached out, gripping Dean's erection in his long fingers.

Dean reclaimed his lips in another brutal kiss and sped up his strokes. He had wanted to make this last, but the minute Cas's hand closed around his dick, he knew that wasn't going to happen.

Sure enough, after a handful of strokes, he was coming over Cas's hand. The angel followed after him quickly and before the sun had fully risen, they were both standing, sated, in the shower.

He was going to miss this shower as well. Wonderful water pressure and a nearly endless supply of hot water was something they seldom found in their hole in the wall motels they were forced to stay in. He never would have thought at the beginning of the week that there would be so much about this place he would miss.

After they'd cleaned themselves, and made out for a bit, they left the shower and dressed for the day. Dean had no idea how things were going to go today. They didn't have any therapy meetings today, merely one final get together around dinner time to say goodbye so he wasn't sure if they should be watching out for Hannah or what.

Sam was going to follow her, keep an eye on her as much as possible while Dean and Cas hung out either in their cabin or up at the main house. More or less, they were waiting for Hannah to make the first move.

Once dressed, Cas walked over to the table and picked up Alec's book, the one they'd used to figure out how to kill Coatlicue and fingered the used spine.

"I should probably return this to him now, rather than later," Cas told him, turning the old book over in his hands.

"Yeah. I'll walk over with you, see them one more time, just in case…" Dean trailed off. Just in case they were busy fighting for their lives come dinnertime, Dean had been about to say.

"Yes," Cas agreed, not even needing the words to know what Dean was thinking.

* * *

When Dean and Cas came to Alec and Jack's cabin, Dean immediately knew something was wrong. He felt for the gun he'd stuck in the waistband of his jeans and nodded for Cas to go up and knock on the door.

The angel approached the cabin slowly. Dean could see his eyes roaming, taking in every movement, every detail of the area around the cabin.

Cas knocked on the door, a quick two raps then stood back. Dean waited impatiently and when no one came to answer their summons, he stepped past Cas and pulled out his lock pick.

He slipped the small metal piece into the lock and twisted until he heard a small 'pop' that indicated the lock and opened. He carefully pushed the door open and peered inside. He immediately felt his hackles rise. Something _bad_ had happened here. Cas pushed past him and stopped cold just inside the threshold.

"This is not good," Cas pointed out needlessly.

"Yeah, no shit," Dean muttered. Cas glared at him. Dean glanced around the room, taking in the overturned table and chairs, the broken TV and mirrors. It looked like a fight had taken place here, there were even what looked like bullet holes near the closet, which wasn't too surprising considering Jack was a cop.

"I guess she picked her couple," Dean told Cas while pulling out his cell phone to call Sam.

Three rings and then his brother's voice came over the line.

"Sam, we've got a problem. Looks like she wasn't waiting until tonight," he told his brother, foregoing a greeting.

" _What happened?"_

"We were returning Alec's book but no one answered. I picked the lock and found ground zero inside. I'm sure she took them, Sam," Dean explained, feeling a slight panic rise in him. These weren't just innocent victims, these were his _friends._

"Alright. Meet me back at your cabin and we'll go look for them. We'll find them, Dean."

Dean just closed his phone, not bothering with saying goodbye, and turned to Cas.

"Let's get out of here and meet up with Sam."

Cas nodded before giving the room one final glance. Dean turned and left, making his way quickly back to their cabin.

* * *

Sam was waiting for them when they got there, a Birch stake in one hand and shotgun in the other.

"Blood's inside," Dean told him, rushing up the steps to unlock the door. His brother followed him inside and handed him the stake. Cas went to the refrigerator and pulled out the jar of blood they'd collected the night before. He handed it to Dean and let the hunter go about covering the stake with it.

Once that was done, Dean turned back to face his brother.

"So. Best bet?" he asked.

Sam shrugged.

"I still think going to the cave is the best place to start."

Dean turned to Cas.

"I agree."

"Okay. Cave it is. Let's go."

* * *

Dean walked into the darkness, Cas a comforting presence behind him. He could sense his brother just off to the left, though he couldn't see Sam in the pitch-blackness that surrounded them.

He could see the slightest bit of light ahead, down a corridor off to the right.

"Sam?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I see. Head that way?"

Dean nodded, heading towards the faint light.

The three men crept down the dark corridor in silence. The further they went, the lighter the cave walls became. Dean led the group as they walked single file. When he finally came to the point where the corridor opened up into another large cavern, he paused. He leaned up against the cold stone and peaked around, into the cavern.

Dean glanced around the room, looking for the goddess or her little hounds but the place looked empty. Not that he was stupid enough to walk out into room.

He let out a small sigh of relief when his gaze landed on an altar in the middle of the room. There, tied to a large pillar, was a very awake and very alive Jack and Alec.

Cas crowded up against his back, startling him out of his musings. He turned his head slightly and met worried blue eyes.

"Dean," Cas whispered, barely audible, "I believe I know why this place has been warded so heavily against angels."

Dean felt Sam crowd closer, probably trying to hear what Cas was saying.

"Why?" Dean asked.

Cas nodded towards the altar.

"There, hanging in the center, between Alec and Jack," Cas explained. Dean glanced across the room, trying to see what Cas saw. He could just make out something hanging on a chain, something glowing.

"What is that?" Sam whispered.

"I believe it is an angel's Grace," Cas told them, worry evident in his voice.

"Why the hell would she have that? Better yet, how'd she get it?" Dean asked.

"I don't know," Cas admitted.

Fuck. That couldn't be good, but... they couldn't exactly go back and look into it. Time was up and they had two friends to save.

"Just... keep your eyes open, be careful," he warned both Sam and Cas.

Dean gripped his gun in one hand and the wooden stake in the other. He glanced once more around the cavern room before starting to walk towards the center.

He made it a handful of steps before a low growling sound reached his ears. He glanced back and watched Cas and Sam glance around the room, guns at the ready.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a soft, melodic voice rang out in the silence.  
Dean turned back to the altar and saw Jack and Alec both awake and staring at him in horror.

"Meddling imbeciles!" a voice, one Dean recognized, hissed from across the room. He glanced up and saw Hannah storming across the cavern.

"Yeah, we've been called that before, better work on your insults," Dean growled.

"Now, now, now, Hannah, darling, I didn't know you were bringing me more gifts. And... oh, my, this is a gift I never expected," the soft voice rang out again. Dean glanced around but was still unable to pinpoint where it was coming from.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know they'd follow, I didn't think they even saw me! I was careful, I promise! Please... please, we had a deal," Hannah begged, face tilted towards the ceiling in pathetic supplication.

A soft chuckle filled the room, causing a shiver to run down Dean's spine.

"Yes, we had a deal. And you've done so well. In fact, this time, you might have even brought me what I need," the voice echoed across the cavern.

A huge smile burst across Hannah's features.

"There's just one more thing I need you to do." A tall form materialized behind Hannah and reached out. Dean watched the pale hand land on the director's head. Hannah's eyes grew large and pain filled. He watched in horror as the being gripped the blond head. Hannah's form shriveled in on itself as the smell of burning flesh permeated the room.

"Much better," the being announced as she let the dried and rotted body fall to the cavern floor. Dean heard a whimper and glanced back to where Jack and Alec were still tied to the altar.

"You never intended to give her what she asked for, did you?" Sam spoke up.

"Of course not. What do you think I am? A demon? I'm not bound to any rules," the goddess told them haughtily.

"So, you used her? Had her do your dirty work for you?" Dean asked, walking slowly into the room, trying to put himself between the goddess and his friends.

"She was easy to manipulate. So much pain, so much despair. I almost felt sorry for her. And, she had perfect access to what I needed. Why wouldn't I use her?"

"But to what end? I mean, she brought you couples, three so far, so, what? They didn't taste right?" Dean asked, glancing around the room, looking for anything that Jack or Alec could use to cut through their bonds. He had his knife, but he didn't know if he could get it to them.

"Yes, she brought me couples, but... none of them were right. None of them had enough power for what I intend to do, unfortunately. But... this time, oh yes, this time she might have actually succeeded."

Dean glanced back at Alec and Jack, a sick feeling in his stomach.

"What do they have the others didn't?" Sam asked, moving around to the other side of the cavern, trying to pin the goddess in the center.

The goddess laughed.

"Naive little human. It's not them I want."

That brought Dean up short. The uneasy feeling he had doubled at the evil smile that graced the goddess's lips.

"What do you mean?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

"Castiel!" She called, glancing behind Dean. "What a... pleasant surprise!"

Dean took a step to the side, keeping himself between his angel and the goddess. The unease he'd felt earlier turned to near panic.

"How are you? Hmmm? Feeling a little… limp lately?" the goddess asked, a laugh in her voice.

Dean noticed Sam creeping around behind the goddess, towards the bound couple on the altar. He caught the slight glint of light off what had to be Ruby's knife in Sam's hand. If he could just keep the goddess talking, keep her distracted so his brother could cut Alec and Jack free.

"What do you want with Cas?" he asked.

"'Cas'? How cute."

In the blink of an eye, the goddess stood right before him. She reached out and grabbed his arm in a crushing grip.

"Dean!" he heard Cas call as the angel moved quickly towards them.

"Stay back!" he yelled, afraid of what the goddess would do to the powerless man.

Coatlicue reached out and jerked up his sleeve. She smiled triumphantly when her gaze landed on the hand mark Cas had left years ago.

"Perfect," she purred.

Dean had a very bad feeling now.

"You see, every other couple, while very much in love and while possessing a very strong bond, lacked one very important thing," she explained, still gripping his arm.

"What? A sense of fashion?" Dean snarked.

Coatlicue gave Dean a cold smile.

"No. They lacked the ability to house an angel's Grace. Each time, every child I created, burnt up the minute it touched them. What a shame, too. Such a waste."

Dean felt sick to his stomach at the thought of poor, innocent babies being at the mercy of this... bitch.

"So... you're, what? Trying to create a baby angel?" Dean asked. He heard Cas's sharp intake of breath behind him.

"Something like that. I want a being, with the power of Heaven at his command, but ruled by his emotions, by his anger, his love. Not bound to rules and order like so many of God's finest. My perfect heir."

"A human with an angel's power," Cas spoke up.

"Exactly. And, now… finally I have what I need to make that."

Coatlicue suddenly spun around, flinging her arm out, catching Sam just as his arm swung down, Ruby's knife firmly in hand.

Dean moved, raising the stake but she turned, flipping one hand towards him, sending the stake careening out of his hand.

"Get Jack and Alec out of here," he yelled as he fought to free his wrist.

Cas ran towards the now freed couple crouched down on the other side of the altar. Dean turned back towards the goddess, who had flung Sam away half way across the cavern room.

"Really? You really think a little piece of wood is enough to stop me?"

Dean heard the growling from earlier grow louder as dozens of black hounds bounded out from all around them. Shit.

He heard the harsh report of a gun as Cas fired at the closest dog, dropping it with one shot.

He saw Jack pick up a rock and send it flying, smashing into another hound and causing a pained yelp as it fell as well.

His brother was battling hounds as well, they were everywhere. He jerked hard, trying again to free himself from the brutal grip the goddess had on him.

"I will get what I want," she hissed, raising a hand towards his head.

"Break one of the sigils!" Cas called out somewhere behind him, drawing the goddess's attention.

Sam picked up a large rock and ran towards the wall where the sigils were etched into stone

"I don't think so," Coatlicue growled, flinging Sam once again across the room.

Dean glanced back towards Cas while the goddess was busy with Sam and was surprised to see Jack digging mercilessly at one of the sigils with a rock. Cas was keeping the hounds away. He knew the moment the sigil was broken. A rush of power filled the room as light flared where Cas stood.

Coatlicue spun around and stared at Jack, rage flashing through her eyes.

"No!" she stuck her hand out and sent the man flying. He hit the wall with a sickening crunch and slid down, a trail of red lingering behind him. He slumped down in a lifeless heap on the floor, eyes staring useless out.

"No!" Alec cried out and ran to his partner. Dean tried to call out, to warn him to get out but a flaring, burning pain welled up inside him. He thought it was the goddess at first, but... it was radiating from Cas's mark. He felt it, like a pull on his soul. He glanced over at Cas and found the angel frozen in place, a look of fear and wonder on his face. Shocked, confused eyes met his for a moment before he broke the gaze to focus on Coatlicue again.

The goddess let go of him and stalked over to where Alec cowered over Jack's corpse. Dean tried to find his voice to call out in warning, but the pulsing burn was too much.

Damn it!

Just as the goddess reached the couple, Cas appeared right behind her, stake held aloft.

He watched the angel's arm swing forward and the stake embed itself straight through the goddess's chest. A wailing, painful screech sounded through the cavern followed by the pained howling of the hounds as they all began to... _melt_ into black puddles. He watched the goddess shrivel as Hannah had, before she fell, merely a pile of dust, at Cas's feet.

Dean felt a feeling of relief and pain, but... it wasn't emanating from him. It was... it was coming from Cas. And he had no idea how he knew that, but he did.

He could feel Cas's relief that the goddess was dead, relief that he and Sam were okay.

He could also feel the pain, pain that Jack had fallen, that Alec, his friend, was hurting.

He pulled himself to his feet, trembling slightly, and walked over to where Alec was sobbing over Jack's body. He felt Sam walk up beside him. Cas glanced over at his brother then reached out, taking Sam's wrist in his hand. Dean watched the deep scratches and bite marks the hounds had left fade away as Cas's Grace healed them.

Once Sam was completely healed, Cas knelt down next to Alec. He placed a calm hand on the crying man's shoulder, startling him. Alec looked up, his face red and wet.

"Wha...?" he asked, flinching back slightly.

"May I?" Cas asked, indicating Jack's still form. Alec looked confused but nodded. Cas reached out and placed two fingers against Jack's forehead.

Dean smiled when Jack gave a harsh gasp and blinked. The other man sat up and scrambled away, looking both frightened and confused.

"It's okay," Cas spoke quietly. "It's over, she's gone."

Alec was staring at Cas in relief and fear.

"What... what are you?" Alec asked, though Dean was pretty sure the other man had to have a pretty good idea after the goddess's rant.

"I am Castiel, and... I'm an angel of the Lord."

"It's a lot cooler when he does the thing with his wings," Dean spoke up, trying to lighten the mood. He could sense amusement and love coming from Cas.

Alec stared at both of them, shock very evident in his eyes before turning back to Jack and throwing himself into his lover's arms.

Jack threw an arm around Alec though his eyes never left Cas.

"I.. I was... and you..."

"Yes," Cas answered. Jack swallowed, hard.

"Right. Yeah… sure..."

"So... you're an... angel. And... God? Is he…?"

"A dick," Dean answered, really wanting to get the hell out of the cave. They could have their question and answer time later.

"Are you one, too?" Jack asked, turning his gaze on Dean.

"Ha. No. Not even close," Dean told him.

"But you two... you're..."

"Oh, yes, they are," Sam said with a smile.

"Shut up, bitch."

"Jerk."

"Can we get out of here?" Alec asked, voice small and scared.

"I second that," Jack added.

"Yeah, come on. Cas? You wanna fly us out?" Sam asked.

"I think it's better if we walk. Riding Cas takes some getting used to," Dean pointed out, knowing that angel flight was... a little much to take, especially after everything that had happened and he could sense that Cas was… a little off still. Whether that was from being human for over a week or… whatever the hell was going on between them, he didn't know.

Sam burst out laughing.

"You'd know best, Dean."

Dean thought about what he'd said, then blushed.

"You... shut your mouth!" Dean growled, before turning and helping Jack go his feet.

"Seriously, angel flight, not so fun. Think you can walk out of here?"

Jack and Alec both nodded, still looking shell shocked.

Dean helped them walk back down the dark tunnel then helped them out of the tiny entrance.

"Careful, it comes out right into the water," he warned.

"Thanks," Alec whispered, jumping in first then reaching back to help Jack. Dean watched the two lovers cling to each other as they swam towards the shore. Sam followed but Cas seemed to be hanging back.

"You're not gonna fly off, now are you?" he asked, worried that Cas would do just that.

"No. I… I believe we need to talk."

Dean could sense Cas's nervousness, but it was over powered by immense… _joy._ Whatever was going on, Cas wasn't too upset by it so Dean decided it couldn't be _that_ bad.

Cas held up the chain that had been in the cave, the chain that held an angel's Grace.

"Well?" Dean asked.

Cas stared at the small vial hanging from the silver chain for a moment.

"I don't know how, but… I'm fairly certain it's Gabriel's Grace."

That pulled Dean up short.

"Gabriel? As in, the dead Archangel?"

"Yes. That Gabriel. Come, let's finish discussing this with Sam," Cas dropped the chain into his pocket and reached out for Dean's hand. Dean placed his hand in the angel's without hesitation and in the blink of an eye, he found himself standing back at their cabin.

 

* * *

Dean and Cas appeared back in their cabin. Everything looked just the way they'd left it and Dean took a minute to glance around. In the ten days they'd been here, this place had started to feel... almost homey. There were few places Dean felt truly at home at. Okay, there were really only two: Bobby's and the Impala. But this place? Dean was surprised to find he was going to miss their little cabin.

"Me, too," Cas whispered quietly from where he stood beside Dean, still holding his hand.

Dean felt a rush of emotions from the angel, too many to pick out exactly what. Cas was feeling.

"Okay, first things first. What the hell is going on?" he asked, letting go of Cas' hand and turning to fave the other man.

He could sense Cas' nervousness. Cas cleared his throat then walked over to their bed. He took a seat then motioned for Dean to join him.

Dean complied and sat down next to Cas. Cas took a deep breath and started to speak.

"I've told you before that you and I share a profound bond."

Dean snorted.

Cas leveled an annoyed look at him.

"Sorry. Go on," Dean apologized.

"As I was saying, you and I share a profounf bond, and I meant that more that figuratively. When I pulled your tattered soul from hell, there was only one way to repair it. I used bits of my Grace to knit together the worst wounds."

Dean blinked in surprise.

"So, I've been carrying around bits of you?" he asked. Cas gave him a small smile.

"In a manner of speaking."

"But... I've never felt you, not like this," Dean protested. Cas nodded.

"Yes, I know. Because it was a one sided bond. An incomplete one."

"What does that mean?" Dean asked.

"It means that while I had given something significant of myself, you had not," Cas answered.

Dean felt uncomfortably guilty at that.

"Don't, Dean. I didn't expect anything, I was merely following orders then," Cas admonished and Dean could feel the sincerity of those words.

"So, what changed?" Dean asked.

Cas blushed the slightest bit.

"This week, you did give something of yourself, freely. Everytime we..." Cas trailed of but Dean could tell what he was saying.

"So, everytime we did the nasty, I was offering bits of myself to you?" Dean asked.

Cas raised an eyebrow and Dean could feel amusement coming from the angel.

"That is one way of putting it, I suppose." Suddenly, Dean felt a wave of nervousness flow from Cas to him. "Are... are you okay with that?" Cas asked.

Dean thought about it for a minute. Really, he already thought of himself as pretty well tied to the angel, especially after this week, so...

"Yeah, Cas. I'm okay with that." Dean clumsily tried to send a rush of assurance to his angel and was rewarded with a blinding smile.

"Good." Cas leaned over and pressed his lips to Dean's. Dean was totally okay with that. The hunter returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm. Dean was ready to kick it up a notch when a knock at their door brought everything to a grinding halt.

"What?" Dean snapped. He could feel frustration rolling off Cas as well.

"Hey, it's me," his brother called through the door.

"Damn," Dean muttered.

"Don't worry, there will be time later," Cas promised, but Dean could feel the uncertainty of that statement.

"Yes, there will be," Dean promised. He smiled at the flood of relief that came from Cas.

Dean reluctantly stood up from the bed and went over to let his brother in.

Sam bounded into the room.

"Okay, so, I got Jack and Alec back to their cabin and answered some of their questions. They seem to be holding up pretty well. You guys packed up and ready to go?"

"Not quite," Dean admitted.

"There's something else we should discuss before we leave," Cas spoke up, pulling the glowing vial from his pocket.

"Yeah, about that," Sam said. "How in the world did a pagan goddess end up with an angel's Grace?"

"I'm not sure, Sam," Cas admitted.

"Tell him who's Grace she's been fucking around with," Dean spoke up.

Cas glanced between the two brothers.

"I am pretty sure it is Gabriel's Grace," Cas explained.

"Gabriel?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Cas replied.

"So, what does that mean? Does it mean he's still alive?" Sam asked, glancing between Cas and Dean.

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say that," Cas admitted but Dean could tell he wasn't completely sure of his answer. "If we can find a way to... recreate his physical form, then we could reunite his Grace with his body and he would live."

"And how would we do that?" Dean asked.

"I'm not sure," Cas admitted.

"Well, we'll just have to figure it out," Sam added. "We owe it to him."

Cas nodded and Dean felt a wave of guilt from the angel.

"It wasn't your fault, Cas, don't even go there," Dean ordered.

Cas just nodded.

"So, what do we do with it 'til then?" Sam asked.

Cas tilted his head.

"It needs to be kept safe. I... I don't feel comfortable taking it to Heaven," Cas told them. Dean kneq things were better upstairs but that Cas still had a long way to go before it would be peaceful again.

"We can keep it down here, then," Sam offered.

Cas seemed to think about it for a minute before nodding his head.

"Sam, come here please," Cas asked.

Sam's brow furrowed but he complied with the request. When he was standing in front of Cas, the shorter man reached up and placed the chain around Sam's neck. He muttered a few words in what Dean was pretty sure was Enochian, and then stepped back.

"Now you will be the only one able to remove it from yourself. It cannot be taken from you," Cas explained.

Sam nodded.

"We will have to research, find a way to recreate his physical form," Cas pointed out.

"Sammy's good at the research. We'll figure it out," Dean promised.

"Alright, well, I'm going to go get my stuff together. I'll meet you guys by the gate?" Sam asked, mindlessly fingering the vial that lay against his chest.

"Sounds good. Hey, remember, that's friggin' Gabriel you're fondling," Dean pointed out with a teasing grin.

Sam gave his brother a bitchface before leaving the cabin.

Dean immediately turned back to Cas.

"Now, where were we?" With that, he pulled his angel to him and kissed him, pouring everything he didn't know how to say into the kiss. He couldn't ask with words, so he asked with his body. His mind silently begged Cas not to disappear back to Heaven, not to go back to the way things were.

Cas pulled back and cradled his face in his hands.

"I promise."

Dean smiled.

"Good. You better keep that promise."

"I will."

Cas leaned back in and kissed the hunter deeply.

It had been a long time, but Dean was pretty sure this was what true happiness felt like.

And didn't that just make him a girl.

 

**Epilogue**

Dean leaned over Cas's prone body.

"This is... far more cramped than my imagination lent me to believe," Cas mumbled.

Dean laughed.

"You're the one that wanted sex in the Impala. Not my fault it's not meant for two grown men," he told the angel, pressing his lips to the spot where neck met shoulder. It was a good thing they had rid themselves of their clothes before moving into the backseat. Because, while Dean may have pulled this off with small women before, he wasn't lying when he said it wasn't meant for two six foot men.

Dean tried to move his hand down to the hard dick poking him in the stomach, but only managed to slam his elbow into the front seat.

"Fuck!" he hissed.

Castiel stifled a laugh. Dean could feel the amusement through their bond.

"Very smooth, Dean," Cas offered. Dean glared at his angel.

"Do I need to remind you again whose idea this was?"

"Dean, I think I've changed my mind."

"Thank God, get us out of here?"

Cas reached out and placed two fingers against Dean's forehead. Between one blink and the next, Dean found himself nestled on the bed of the last hotel he and Sam had made their temporary home while they hunted a nest of Wendigos.

"Much better," Dean told Cas as he leaned over the other man and pulled him into a deep kiss. He could feel Cas's arousal grow through their link. If there was one thing Dean loved about his new bond with the angel, it was the feedback loop arousal created between the two. The more turned on he got the angel, the more arousal Cas fed through the bond and vice-versa. It was awesome, and made for seriously intense sex.

Cas returned the kiss and flipped the two over so he was laying on top of Dean. He felt the angel's hand slip inside his jeans, cupping his already hard cock outside his underwear. Dean pushed a rush of yeswantneednow through their bond and smiled when Cas moaned against his lips.

"You have really mastered sending emotions through the link," he muttered, barely stopping the kiss to speak.

"Yeah, well, I had an awesome teacher," Dean returned.

Cas pulled back and smiled.

"Well-" he started, then trailed off, body going ridged. Cas's eyes lost focus, as if he was listening to something far off. "Sam's in trouble," he told Dean, reaching out and touching his forehead once again.

Dean blinked around the forest they landed in, searching for his brother.

"Over there," Cas answered, pulling out his sword from nowhere. Dean clamped down on the worry he knew had to be flooding their link. While he had gotten better at sharing feelings and emotions, he was still shit at blocking them.

Dean and Cas rushed in the direction Cas had indicated and as they broke through into a clearing, a bright, white, familiar light lit up the area.

"Shut your eyes!" Cas yelled, but Dean had already snapped his eyelids closed. He couldn't see what was going on, but he could feel Cas shock, then amazement tinged with worry.

"Cas, what the hell's going on?" Dean demanded.

"You can open your eyes," Cas answered, voice cautious and quiet.

Dean snapped his eyes open and found his brother in the center of the clearing, hand stretched out and twelve Wendigo laying motionless around him. Sam was bloodied and looked scared.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled, racing over to his distraught brother. "What happened, are you okay? Who else was here?" the last question he aimed back at Castiel.

"No one else, Dean," Cas replied.

Dean looked back at Sam, waiting for his brother to say something.

"I... I'm fine, Dean. I just came to see if I could find clues to their hideout. Didn't expect them to ambush me," Sam replied. He was breathing harshly and had one hand clamped to the necklace he wore, the one that held an archangel's grace.

"You know better than that! You never go hunting alone, Sam!" Dean snapped, "and what do you mean, no one else?" he asked, turning back to Cas. "I know what I saw, and I'm pretty sure only an angel packs the kind of punch that did this," he gestured to the fallen monsters around Sam.

"No one else was here, Dean. I... I think Sam did this," Cas told the hunter. Dean felt Cas's surprise, but he wasn't lying.

"What do you mean, Sam did this?" Dean asked, turning back to look at his brother.

Sam swallowed.

"I didn't mean to," the other hunter spoke up. "They were everywhere, I didn't know what to do. I just... I just wanted them to stop. I felt... I felt this... power. Inside. Kinda... kinda like I used to feel when, you know," Sam averted his eyes at this.

Dean felt horror rise up inside. NO. No way, no way was Sam going back to that. He opened his mouth to tell Sam exactly what was on his mind, but Cas interrupted. He must have felt the panic.

"Dean, it's not like that. What I felt, there was no darkness to it," Cas told him, laying a calming hand over the handmark on his shoulder.

"It felt like it, Dean, but not exactly. It was... different. Warm. Safe," Sam spoke up, hand still cradling the necklace.

"Sam, I believe you may have found a way to utilize Gabriel's grace," Cas told the hunters.

Dean snapped his head around to stare at the angel.

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm with him, what?" Dean repeated his brother's question.

"I'm not sure how, but I do believe that's what happened."

Dean sighed.

"Well, fuck."

"Perhaps we should return to the motel and look into this more?" Cas suggested.

Sam nodded.

"What about these?" Sam pointed at the bodies laying on the forest floor.

Cas waved his hand and the bodies burst into flame before disintegrating into dust.

The angel laid a hand on both hunters' shoulders and brought them both to the room Dean had just left.

"Well... can't say our lives are ever boring," Sam said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah. The Winchester Curse," Dean muttered, picking up his phone. "I'm gonna call Bobby." Sam was already booting up his lap top, and Cas was already opening a book. No, their lives weren't boring. Dean would really hate it if they were.

 

**~FIN~**

A/N: A short little epilogue, because everything else I wanted to put in here, made it WAY too long, so I saved it all for the sequel.. WHICH is about half way done. :) I'll start posting once I'm closer to 90% done. So, keep a weather eye open! Also, I'm on twitter Aleisha_Potter7 is my new account (hacker got ahold of the old one.) and I'm on Tumblr, aleishapotter. Follow! As an incentive, and to get my muse going, I'm offering the first five followers on both a fic. Follow, then post a prompt and I will write you a fic to go with it. It doesn't have to be Destiel. I'm falling really hard for the Sterek Fandom (can't stand Teen Wolf still, but really in love with Derek and Stiles...) so, get to it! And enjoy! I'm also getting ready to post the oneshots that I took out of Hard Road, so, again, be watchful! Thank you for sticking with me through this long, lovely and at times painful journey!


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